


A link to the past, and a bridge to the future

by MonPetitTresor



Series: Arianna Strange (aka Toni Stark) [3]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, X-Men - All Media Types
Genre: Alliances, Don't mess with Toni Stark, F/M, Family, Family Feels, Hurt/Comfort, Loki & Tony Stark Friendship, Loki loves Toni, M/M, Recovery, She'll Kick Your Ass, Team as Family, Tiny bit of Angst, Toni Stark is amazing, Toni loves Loki, Visiting Asgard, War prep
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-30
Updated: 2019-12-01
Packaged: 2021-01-12 22:10:51
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 45,995
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21233375
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MonPetitTresor/pseuds/MonPetitTresor
Summary: Little by little Toni finds herself once more with a team around her, though that had never been her intention. But she'd never quite been able to turn away someone in need. As their plans for the upcoming war progress further, somehow Toni finds herself with more of a family than she'd ever thought she'd have - in more ways than one.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So I didn't realize that this was technically done for a while now. I kept looking further ahead at what was in my outline, not realizing that I could just cut it off at ten chapters and make this its own story. So, as I beta this, it'll get put up, but it is done! Here's yet another story with our lovely Toni! I hope you enjoy, and don't forget to drop me a line and let me know :)

The early hours of the morning were always such a quiet time. With the stars slowly fading out of the sky, and the first hints of light building on the horizon, it almost felt like the whole world was holding its breath. Everything was so soft and quiet. Then, little by little, the world would sigh, and sunlight would begin to creep across the water.

It had always been one of Toni’s favorite times of the day. During her party years, she’d often been just going to bed or stumbling her way out of someone else’s. Sometimes she’d been at work in her workshop, and JARVIS would turn the walls into screens for her until she felt like she was sitting outside. Other nights it was nightmares that brought her out of her bedroom and up to the roof of Stark Tower to watch as the world slowly came to life. There was something so peaceful about it. About looking and seeing proof that the world continued on.

Toni had lost that peace for quite a while when she’d come back in time. Slowly but surely, she was finding the joy of it in herself again. Even after a nightmare filled night like she’d just had.

Instead of curling up against Loki or heading down to the workshop as she’d taken to doing after nightmares, Toni had slipped out of bed, grabbed one of Loki’s hoodies from the hook on the back of the door, and then quietly made her way downstairs.

Two cups of coffee later found her curled up on a blanket down on the private beach. There Toni sat, knees up to her chest, hands lost in the long sleeves of her partner’s sweater, sipping on her coffee and watching the rise of dawn slowly creep up on the horizon. A bit of hair slipped free from the loose bun she’d pulled it into, and she reached up absently to brush it back behind her ear. Despite having a rough night, Toni felt more relaxed than she had in, well… in a long, long time. Since before she’d ever come here, that was for sure.

Just thinking about it was enough to make her grimace. But that expression quickly smoothed away as Toni thought about all the things that had changed since then. She wasn’t the same person she’d been when she was sent back here. Life had changed her. _People_ had changed her.

It’d been almost two years since Toni had first been sent back in time. In the grand scheme of things, that was almost no time at all. Yet so much had changed. Her life was so very different. At first Toni had been resigned to spending her time alone. Then, little by little, despite her best efforts, she’d let people in.

Stephen, who had taken care of her at first, helped her get up on her feet and offered her the protection of his name without any real hesitation on his part. He’d been a friend, then, but now the two were close enough to feel like the siblings they pretended to be.

Tony. While it might seem strange to think of being friends with herself, essentially, it was true. The man was her best friend. Her twin, as they liked to joke. There was enough time – and plenty enough experiences – to make the two of them different people. And as Toni changed the timeline more and more, giving Tony a more stable life than the one she’d had with the Avengers, it changed him into someone that she’d never been, yet someone that she loved dearly.

Loki. He had been one of the hardest to let in and yet had turned out to be the most rewarding. Not just friend, not just lover, but a partner. Someone who had wormed their way in so close to her heart there was no way to get him out anymore. Not that she even wanted to. A life without Loki in it wasn’t something that Toni wanted to contemplate.

Through Loki, she’d gained so many others, too. Eir, a loyal bodyguard and a dear friend. Sigyn, Frigga, even Heimdall. In a sense, it was with him that she’d also gained Jane Foster and Darcy, and even Thor.

Then they’d gone and added one more.

James.

Six months had gone by since they’d brought James home with them. In those six months, the changes in the man were astounding. He’d slowly started to work his way back toward life. Sometimes it was by just the tips of his fingers, grasping and clawing at whatever he could reach to help him, but he was doing it. With their help, and Laura’s, more and more of _James_ was surfacing from under the Winter Soldier, and the more he was learning to accept those bits of the Winter Soldier that might never go away.

A small smile curved Toni’s lips as she thought of what it’d been like those first few weeks compared to how it was now.

He hadn’t fit in easily. There was too much history there; it clouded his interactions with everyone. Loki was cautious and slightly on edge because _Toni_ was cautious and on edge. In turn, Eir grew more protective, watching James like a hawk, while James shrunk underneath it all.

It’d taken weeks, a session or two with Laura, and a few nightmare-filled nights before Toni found the courage to finally talk to James and get everything out in the open. There’d been anger and tears, and a few things broken as they lanced that wound, but once it was all gone it left behind a kind of peace that was allowing them to slowly but surely heal.

Once Toni relaxed, Loki did as well, and Toni wasn’t surprised to find that he and James got along well. They were both snarky bastards.

The friendship between James and Eir came about a bit slower. Eir took her job as a bodyguard seriously. It took almost a month before she finally seemed ready to start accepting him. Even then, it hadn’t been without a warning first. A simple “If you hurt them, I will not hesitate to kill you” delivered in a calm and steady tone that felt all the more dangerous for her lack of emotion.

When Toni would’ve protested, she’d been cut off by Loki’s hand on her arm. It had silenced her long enough for James to have a chance to speak. Just as calmly, he’d nodded his head. “If I’m a threat, I expect no less.”

That seemed to be that. Toni didn’t claim to understand the two of them, but she was glad to see them relax and start to bond together afterward. Though she really could’ve done without the whole _gaining another bodyguard_ bit. Yet that was exactly what had happened. James and Eir seemed to have worked things out at some point to divide up bodyguard duties between the two of them. They also each seemed to assign themselves a person on those few instances they dared to go out in public. Eir would always go with Loki, while James kept with Toni.

Nothing she said dissuaded them. No matter how Toni tried to talk about being equals, they would just smile and nod and go on about their business as if she hadn’t said anything at all. They drove her crazy, and yet, Toni wouldn’t have had them any other way. She loved them all.

Most especially the one that was moving on almost silent feet toward her.

A smile was already curving Toni’s lips when Loki reached her. She didn’t bother moving; just stayed where she was as he lowered himself down onto the blanket behind her. Long legs slipped along either side of her while Loki shamelessly pressed himself right up against her back, his arms easily drawing her back to rest against him.

When Toni looked down, her smile grew, and she couldn’t quite help but chuckle. Loki was in the pair of snowflake pajama pants she’d bought him as a joke, but he’d also pulled on his boots, which he hadn’t even bothered tying. The laces looked like they’d been scooped up and tucked into the sides of his boots. Toni couldn’t resist flicking a finger at his boots. “Nice outfit.”

Loki just hummed as he nuzzled his face against her hair. In response, Toni lifted her mug over her shoulder and offered him a drink. He didn’t take it from her, just used a hand to tip it so he could drink some, and then he let go so that she was free to draw her cup back down.

Neither one of them said anything. Loki understood the occasional need for silence, and he respected it. He simply offered his presence as comfort while the two of them watched the sun slowly come up on the horizon.

CXCX

The peace Toni found on the beach that morning was something that she tried to hold on to throughout her day. It wasn’t easy; there weren’t a whole lot of things that needed to be done. A quick conference call with Tony, a brief chat with Laura, and then an afternoon spent working on improving her suit. Most of the past few months had been spent trying to heal the various members of their little group here while also figuring out how to live together. Not that she or Loki had really stopped working on ways to try and protect the planet or stop Thanos. Just that they were at a bit of a standstill.

There were no more major events until it came to the time for Ultron. But the only thing Toni could think of to do to prevent that was continue her hunt for the scepter. Knowing where it’d been in her timeline didn’t seem to be doing her any good. Either things were different here, or they hadn’t yet moved the scepter to where her team had originally found it. Regardless, there wasn’t much Toni could do until their searches revealed something.

Hunting for the other stones wasn’t easy going, either. Loki was out often to try and hunt them down. Chasing down rumors here and there. He had a current lead he was working on; a group he called the ‘Guardians of the Galaxy,’ which only served to make Toni snort at him. And people called _her_ pretentious.

But, beyond that, they seemed to be spinning their wheels, and it was driving her crazy.

“It’s just so frustrating!” she ranted at dinner that night. Stabbing one of the vegetables on her plate, she glared down at it like it’d personally offended her. A small squeaky purr from the hood of her sweater had her absently reaching her free hand back to scratch at her little Gooma. Much to Loki’s amusement, and earning her more than a few eye-rolls from the others, Toni still had the little guln that she’d brought back from Asgard. Though it hadn’t changed much in size, it had rounded out in good health, and it was easily trained into munching only on the scraps Toni gave it. It also deeply loved Toni, occasionally tolerated Loki if it had to, was scared of Eir, and liked to try nibbling on James’ fingers.

The guln gave a deeper purr at her scratches before once more settling back into sleep. Toni sighed as she dropped her hand back down. “We’ve finally gotten HYDRA out of SHIELD, which, yay. Go team. A few other major events have been taken care of. But, I just, we’re spinning our wheels trying to find these stupid stones, and until we find them I’m stuck doing _nothing_, which I’ve never been all that good at. I’m getting bored, Lokes, and you know what happens when I get bored!”

Loki ignored the whining at the end; something he was rather good at. The little shit. Instead, he tilted his head enough to give her a chiding look. “You are not doing _nothing_. I’ve seen the work you’ve been doing with JARVIS and Tony to try and prepare.”

Well yeah, sure. She’d been doing her best to try to plan and prepare, but those were only _plans_. Random things discussed between two people. None of it actually put anything in place. Toni knew well enough from last time around that plans against Thanos weren’t going to work when it was all done on the fly with little help or planning or even involvement from anyone else. “It _feels_ like nothing.”

So far, both Eir and James had been quiet through the meal. But at Toni’s dejected tone, and the clear way she slumped in her seat, James fixed her with a steady look that saw way more than she liked to think about. “Maybe instead of pouting or worrying about everyone else, it’s time you start focusin’ on your own team.”

Surprise had Toni looking up at him. Not just at the fact that he was speaking his mind like this – something they’d been working hard to get him to do – but at what he was implying there. “Excuse me, my own _what_? What are you talking about?”

She watched in confusion as James just stared at her for a moment like he couldn’t quite believe what he was seeing, and then turned himself to look over at Eir and Loki, eyebrows up in silent question. In response, Eir smiled, and Loki nodded his head at the same time that he shrugged one shoulder. They were carrying on an entire conversation without words. Toni tried not to be offended that she wasn’t a part of it.

Then James turned to face her once again, and his look was serious. He even went so far as to set down his silverware so that his full focus was on her. “You’re not gonna save the world with just the Avengers,” James said bluntly. “You’re setting this whole thing up so that the Avengers get to be a great team, an I get it, I do, but they aint the only ones interested in keepin’ the planet safe, an they can’t be everywhere at once.”

Eir nodded her head, drawing Toni’s focus over to her. “James and I have talked about it, and while we both agree that the Avengers need to be a working team to help, we don’t believe they need to be the _only_ team.”

They weren’t wrong. Toni had been thinking the same thing for quite a while. She had a file downstairs of allies she should be starting to court. She’d just been putting it off because the more people she spoke to, the more she tried to recruit to their cause, the greater the chance that someone might begin to suspect something about her. Or that she might find herself drawn into dealing with the Avengers – a scenario she was trying her damndest to avoid.

It looked like avoidance wasn’t going to keep working, though. James and Eir were right. It was going to take more than one team to protect the planet. Especially a team that, though they were doing so much better this time around, Toni couldn’t help worrying would end up cracking at the first bit of pressure just as they’d done in her timeline.

However, the way that her friends had worded things hadn’t escaped Toni’s notice, and she didn’t hesitate to lift her fork and point it at them. “I’m not leading a team. I’m not a leader. So just get that out of your heads right now.”

The look of pure _‘are you fucking kidding me?’_ that James shot her was a bit insulting. At least Eir had the decency to drop her gaze and say nothing.

Loki, however, held no such qualms. Nor was he afraid to be a condescending little bastard. Without an ounce of shame, he reached over and lightly patted her arm, doing his best to make the gesture as patronizing as possible. His tone was full of false sympathy that made it clear he was just humoring her as he said: “Yes, dear.”

A scowl twisted Toni’s lips. “Oh, you’re all a bunch of colossal asshats. Can we just focus on the part of what you said that’s _actually_ reasonable?” She swatted at Loki’s hand, rolling his eyes when he simply caught her hand and drew it up for a kiss. There was a hint of a smile tugging at her lips that she didn’t bother to hide, though, even as she drew her hand back and mock-glared at him. “None of that now, gorgeous. We’ve got plans to make. You guys aren’t wrong in that we need to get some more teams out there. If we want to do that, we need to go courting some allies.”

“That would mean telling people some truths,” James pointed out.

“No,” Loki said, shaking his head. His own plate was empty, leaving him free to sit back in his seat with just a wine glass in hand. One finger tapped lazily against the glass. There was a slightly far-away look to his eyes, a hint of a furrow in his brow, that told Toni her partner was thinking, running through ideas lightning fast. It didn’t take long for him to continue to speak. “All we have to tell them is what we know about what’s coming. How we obtained that information doesn’t matter. Not if we use my own testimony to back us up.”

That set Toni back on her heels. The idea of Loki sharing something like that, something that she knew still caused him so much pain… it had Toni’s insides twisting a little in guilt. She didn’t want him to hurt just so she wouldn’t have to. “Loki, you don’t have to do that.”

The thoughtful look on Loki’s face shifted into one a whole lot warmer. His eyes softened, while one corner of his mouth curved up. “I believe you’ll find I do very little I don’t want to, my dear.”

Seeing that soft look on Loki’s face was enough to warm places inside of Toni that had felt cold for so very long. It didn’t seem to matter that they’d been together for months and months now. Coming close to a year, actually. No matter the time that passed, Toni still couldn’t seem to get past the shock of the idea that Loki honestly cared for her. That he was _staying_ with her. Not just to make use of her money, or her technology, or her fame. The first two he already had access to thanks to their alliance contract – she was magically bound to provide them. And the last wasn’t something that was a part of her life anymore. Nor was it something Loki honestly seemed to want.

No, Loki was with her for _her_. Because he loved her.

When Toni had landed in the past, she’d told herself she wasn’t going to fall for something like this again. That she wasn’t going to put herself out there to be hurt. Yet somehow, here she was. A partner, a brother, friends. She was rebuilding her life little by little, and it was equal parts terrifying and thrilling.

As if he could read those thoughts from her eyes, Loki’s own gaze gentled even more, little bits of seidr sparking in the backs of his eyes. He lifted his hand and ghosted his fingers along her cheek, down her jawline, the touch carrying a blatantly sexual edge to it while at the same time full of so much love it stole Toni’s voice away.

Their moment was broken by a disgusted snort from James. Looking up, Toni found that he’d picked up his silverware and was eating again, though he shot her faux scowl when he felt her eyes on him. “You guys are disgusting.”

“In all the _best_ ways,” Toni agreed cheerfully.

CXCX

Loki and James took dishes duty once their meal was done, though it should’ve been Toni’s turn. They kicked her out before she could attempt to get started, and who was she to argue with that? She _hated_ dishes. Plus, she had a few phone calls to make. Now that they’d put the idea in her head about finally pushing forward on getting more allies, Toni didn’t want to wait. She’d already waited long enough.

First things first: she settled down in her lab and had JARVIS patch through a video call to Tony. It only took a moment before he appeared on the holographic screen in front of her.

The man was clearly at work in his workshop. It looked like he was doing something with Natasha’s Widow Bites. At least, Toni was pretty sure that’s what the pieces were that she could see. Though it was clear that hadn’t been all Tony had been doing. There was a bandana around his neck that meant he’d been doing some heavy work; they always wore one to push up over their face or wipe away sweat when working. He also had a tiny bit of grease above his left eye, close to his temple, where he’d undoubtedly used the back of his hand to wipe away something and left a smear behind.

Seeing him brought a bright grin to Toni’s face. More so when Tony beamed right back at her. “Mini-me! To what do I owe the pleasure of your gorgeous face tonight?”

“Can’t a girl call a boy just for fun?” Toni asked teasingly. She was sitting at her own worktable, tapping away at the built-in screen there. She could pull the images up into the air if she wanted. Which, she usually did. But leaving it in the tabletop allowed her to continue to fiddle with her current project while also talking to Tony _and_ take a few notes.

Tony’s grin grew a little more until there were crinkles at the corners of his eyes. “_Scandalous_, Dr. Strange. I approve wholeheartedly.”

“I thought you might, Dr. Stark.” Toni winked at him, which only served to make him laugh. She was quite proud of that. “However, I’ll admit this isn’t as much of a pleasure call as one might hope. I actually wanted to talk a little business with you.”

“Talk away.”

“Things around here are finally settling in. We’re all a whole lot more stable than we were. I’m thinking that it’s time to start diving back into some of the plans we’ve been making. Have you had a chance to talk to Charlie?”

The wire-stripper that Tony had been using started to tap against the tabletop. His table was wooden, so it didn’t do more than make a low thudding sound. One that he barely noticed. Almost all of his attention was now turned toward Toni. “I did. Gave him the approved version of your story and everything. Last time we talked, he’d started working on some changes around the place, getting his people a bit more protected and prepared.” The wire cutters gave another few taps, and Tony’s eyes sharpened, narrowing down on her. “You thinking about going to meet with him?”

When Toni had tried to plan what type of people they were going to need to get on her side, one of the first groups she’d thought of – after the Avengers – was the X-Men. Last time she had tried to warn Charles about the coming threat, but by that point, she’d been so burned by no one believing her that she’d almost started to believe them when they blamed her fears on paranoia and PTSD. She hadn’t pushed when she should have.

That wasn’t a mistake she was going to make again. Getting the X-Men on their side would be an amazing help. They were a large group, spread out through various schools, and connected to even more mutants all around the planet. If Toni could get Charles to organize his people, their chances of surviving this would go up by quite a bit.

That didn’t mean that she’d just trust blindly, though. Toni absently scrolled through some of the information in front of her, pushing aside a few projects that could be moved out of Urgent and into her Soon file. At the same time, she pulled up a digital copy of the alliance agreement that had been made between her and Loki. “I am,” she finally answered Tony. “I want to talk to him, see what he thinks, and get a proper alliance contract set up.”

“To tie them to the Avengers, or to you?”

There was no judgment in Tony’s tone. No recrimination on his face. Yet, Toni had to try not to flinch at those words. Instead, she squared her shoulders and angled her chin up, a clearly defensive posture to those that knew her. “I’m not trying to set myself up as some sort of supreme leader here. I don’t _want_ to be in charge, and we both know I really shouldn’t be. But neither should the Avengers. Especially while they’re still an entity of SHIELD.” Because they both knew that SHIELD would do their best to keep the Avengers under their control, and through them, any allies they had. At least if Toni was the one going around and making alliances with people she’d be able to offer them protection if SHIELD tried to take control.

The look Tony gave her made it clear he agreed. Still, “I’m sure it’s got nothing to do with how little you trust the Avengers,” he added on just a touch sharply.

Toni tilted her head a little. She didn’t bother denying it. They both knew the truth. “I trust _you_.”

“And I trust them.”

A pang shot through Toni’s heart. She didn’t try to hide it, not from Tony. She just closed her eyes against it and briefly turned away. The frustration in his voice had been clear. Honestly, Toni couldn’t say that she blamed him. She was more surprised that it’d taken this long to get to this point. For almost two years now Tony had trusted in Toni, believed what she said, respected what limits she put up. But the Avengers were his team. They were his family. To constantly have to lie to them, to keep something this big a secret from them, it had to be wearing on him.

“I trust them,” Tony repeated, his voice so much gentler this time. “I know you don’t, and you’ve given me enough to let me know that you’ve got some damn good reasons why. But they aren’t your old team, Toni. Whatever happened to fuck everyone up in your timeline, you stopped that. You helped us fix it before it became a problem. And these people? I’d trust these people with my life. I _have_ trusted them with my life.”

Logically, Toni knew all that. She knew that there were major differences between the people she’d known and the people that were surrounding Tony now. These guys hadn’t been put under the pressures her team had. They hadn’t fractured before they’d even had the chance to begin to connect with one another. They were what she’d always wanted – a team. A _family_. And yet…and yet she couldn’t help but think of lying on that cold stone floor, her body broken and bleeding, and Steve standing over her with his shield raised high in the air, terrified that this was the end. She could see Jim falling from the sky in his suit, feel the fear in her heart as she raced to try and catch him, knowing the whole time that she’d fail. She could hear Clint, sharp and angry, berating her for not being a _team player_ while that _witch_ stood at his back.

The memories washed over Toni, making her heart ache. “I can’t.” The words were shakier than she liked, yet she managed to get them out. Though she couldn’t bring herself to look at him while she did. “I know you trust them, Tony. I get it, I really do. I just, I can’t, okay? I can’t… I can’t separate them in my head. Who they are, what they did.” Absently she lifted one hand and rubbed it over her chest where the reactor had once sat. Where she’d once had a false sternum to support the damage the reactor had left behind. One that had been even further damaged after Siberia.

For a long moment, their call went quiet. Then Toni could hear it as Tony sighed. “I’ll call up Chuck and set up a meeting.”

Hearing the resignation in his voice had Toni wanting to wince. Though she managed to hold it back, she did force herself to look up again. To actually meet Tony’s eyes through the screen. The man didn’t look like he was mad at her. More that he was _tired_.

Being in the position he was in couldn’t be easy. Toni knew what she was doing here. She knew she was asking him to do the one thing that the team had once hated _her_ for – keeping secrets. How would the team react if they ever found out about this? How much trouble would she be getting him into? It was a thought Toni had tried not to think about. If she did, she knew she might lose her resolve.

“I’m sorry,” Toni said gently. She dropped her hands down to her lap where she could curl them in without anyone seeing.

Tony nodded. “I know you are. An I get it, really. But you’re not going to be able to hide forever, gorgeous. One of these days you’re gonna have to tell them the truth. I just hope it doesn’t blow up in our faces when you do – for both our sakes.”

The call ended, but Tony’s words still seemed to echo around her, a worrying promise of what was to come.


	2. Chapter 2

When Tony finally got ahold of Toni again to let her know when the meeting would be, it was a lot quicker than she’d anticipated. She’d thought for sure that it’d be a few days, maybe even a week or more. Charles was a busy man. Between his school and the X-Men, it wasn’t always easy to pin him down for things. Especially with the little trips that he took to various places. So, Toni had tried to prepare herself for the long wait.

She definitely hadn’t expected Tony to call her back within the hour with a meeting for the very next day.

That didn’t leave her or Loki all that much time to plan. Thankfully, they’d already discussed a little bit of what they wanted to do. Now they just needed to hammer out the remaining details of their plan.

The first part – and the part that immediately caused trouble – was the agreement that they weren’t bringing James or Eir with them. Naturally, neither one liked that idea. Eir stood tall and silent, though she glared openly at them in a way she wouldn’t have dared to months ago. James didn’t feel the need to hold back his anger. He was learning that he was free to express things like that without risk of repercussions. While he didn’t do it outside their home, he’d grown comfortable enough with them to do it inside, away from prying eyes. He wasn’t as afraid to tell them what he thought.

“You’re an idiot!”

Even if it wasn’t always the nicest.

Toni rubbed at her face as she poured yet another cup of coffee. She and Loki had only been up for twenty minutes, and most of that had been spent in an awkward argument over the breakfast table as Toni tried to wake up, and James and Eir tried to convince her to take them along today. Loki, the right little bastard that he was, had escaped to the shower and left her to deal with them. Toni contemplated strangling the man later for this.

“It’s the smart thing to do,” Toni said tiredly. They were the same words she’d said multiple times already. Maybe they’d finally start to sink in this time. Yawning, Toni turned around and leaned back against the counter, choosing to just stand there and drink her coffee instead of going to sit back down. “If we show up there with guards, it’s going to immediately put most of the people on the defensive. Tony set up this meeting today to talk to Charles, start negotiations, and hopefully convince the man to be allies with us. That’s not going to work if they think we distrust them right from the get-go.”

James’ glare didn’t lessen in the slightest. “I _don’t_ trust ‘em.”

“You don’t trust anyone around us,” Toni pointed out.

He didn’t even try and deny it. He just shrugged as if to say _And your point?_

Sometimes Toni regretted introducing James and Eir to one another. Or listening to Loki and not arguing when James decided to take up his own guard duty. She hadn’t wanted to bring the man to them so that she could hire him to watch their backs. Yet that was the role he’d slotted himself into – a role he’d chosen, Loki pointed out, and Toni wasn’t willing to take away his choices – and it was a role that he seemed to come alive in. There were times that Toni wasn’t sure who was more intense about their safety, James or Eir. Together, they were a nightmare of overprotective mother hens wrapped up in leather and weapons.

Another sigh slid from Toni. She was too tired for this bullshit right now. Once more rubbing at her face, she tried to gather up some semblance of patience. “I don’t have the time or the energy to explain to you all the reasons that taking a guard would be a bad idea. I know you don’t like it – either one of you. But it’s what has to be done. I’m sorry if it pisses you off. Now, if you don’t mind.” Lifting her mug, Toni drained the last of it, ignoring the burn that said she probably should’ve added a bit more creamer to cool it off. Once her mug was empty, she set it in the sink and then turned to look at her friends again. “Be as pissed at me as you want, just do it on your own time. I’ve got a negotiation to plan and some armor to put on.”

That said, Toni headed off to do exactly as she’d said. She only had a few hours to get ready, and she wasn’t going to waste a single one of them.

* * *

It took her almost all of those hours to finally get herself ready in a way that suited what she wanted. Toni had been extremely careful as she dressed herself for their meeting. Everything about this had to be done carefully. As Loki had pointed out last night while they were all talking about today’s plans: “This is not a visit between friends. We go to speak as potential allies. The impression that we make on them will set the tone for any future dealings between us.”

To that end, they’d decided to present both a strong and a united front. One that didn’t hide the Asgardian aspect of things, nor let it take over the human side of it all. They needed something that made it clear Toni was from earth while also showcasing her Asgardian ties. Something relaxed, because this meeting was friendly, but also formal enough to make them think twice about treating her as anything other than a potential ally, and a powerful one at that. Toni had played politics her entire life. She knew how to play a room and twist perceptions to her advantage. This was no different.

What she ended up wearing was a combination of earth clothes and Asgardian clothes. A kind of mish-mosh of the two that she was a little bit proud of. Toni knew she could’ve worn the dress that Frigga had sent with her. That would definitely send a message; it’d mark her as a Princess of Asgard. While Toni definitely wanted to play up her connections, she wasn’t yet sure if she wanted to play them that hard. She wanted them to underestimate her, but not completely discount her.

With that in mind, she dressed carefully. A pair of black breeches a lot like what Loki often wore, with a pair of knee-high black boots. The boots had small silver rings running up each side and were held together by a dark green lace, almost like a corset. Tucked into little hidden pouches on the sides were two knives that Loki had gifted her.

For the top, she wore a dark green button-up shirt that was well-tailored to fit her just right, and a black vest on top of that. One that showed off her slender waist and brought attention to her cleavage, which was showing thanks to a good bra and a few undone buttons.

Maybe it wasn’t right, but Toni was going to enjoy playing on their perceptions of her. Let them try to figure her out. Human? Asgardian? Both? Neither? Her clothing choices could go either way. They also brought focus to how petite she was, something which Toni had learned seem to make people either want to protect her or discount her as any sort of threat. Either of those options was going to work for her today. Even if people didn’t consciously choose to see her that way, subconsciously they might, and that worked out perfectly for her. It meant they’d never see it coming when she swept in and made damn sure the negotiations went in her favor.

Eir was the one to sit Toni down and help her with her hair. Though Eir kept her own head shaved almost bald, she seemed to have no problems helping Toni finally get the cut she’d been wanting. One that was out of her way, or that she could pull out of the way if necessary, but also let hang down and give her a feminine look if she ever wanted. It wasn’t a hard cut to do, either. Eir carefully gathered up a section on top of Toni’s head, put it in a bun to keep it out of the way, and shaved the rest. Not completely bald, down to the skin, but with just a short buzz. “I was always the one with the steadiest hands,” she told Toni as she worked. “So when it came time for haircuts in the family, I was the one that had to do it.”

It ended up looking pretty awesome if Toni said so herself. Once Eir finished shaving the underside, she trimmed the top down until it fell in little waves alongside her face, the longest point just barely reaching the apple of her cheek. Toni looked in the mirror and was more than a little pleased with the results. The cut was just what Toni had wanted. It wasn’t something she ever would’ve dared wear if she were still in the spotlight, but for just Arianna Strange, mechanic, engineer, and small-town nobody? It was _perfect_. “You’re absolutely amazing.”

“Thank you, my lady.” Eir gave a little bow, still so formal, yet her smile was soft and friendly. Toni counted that as a win.

She counted things as more of a win when she came out, fully dressed and with her new haircut styled artfully along one side of her face – bless JARVIS and YouTube videos for helping Toni not only style her hair but apply a bit of makeup for her eyes and lips – and she got to take in Loki’s reaction to her. He was dressed in the same style of formal wear that he’d put on to go to Asgard and speak with Odin. He looked gorgeous and dangerous, and he was looking at Toni with such blatant appreciation that was warmed by the amount of sheer _love_ just radiating off him.

Toni strolled right up to him, taking hold of his arm with hands that were far less delicate than they looked. She gave his arm a squeeze and beamed up at him. “Are you ready for this?”

“I do not believe anyone is quite ready for _you_, my dear.”

Well, how else was Toni supposed to respond to a compliment like that, except to stretch up and give him a kiss? When she pulled back, she was beaming at him. “Flatterer.”

Their flirting was interrupted by the two who were standing there watching him. “Be safe,” James grumbled at them. He had his arms crossed over his chest to back up the glare on his face. It was a pose that was there to make sure they knew how little he liked this whole thing.

In contrast, Toni’s smile was big and bright. “Now where’s the fun in that?”

She gave Loki’s arm a squeeze, and he took the hint, the two of them vanishing before James or Eir could get a chance to say anything else. It left the two guards standing there staring at the empty space. Eir rolled her eyes, and James let out a snort. “Fuckin’ idiots.”

“Indeed.” Eir smiled faintly, turning toward James as she did. “But they are ours.”

There was a moment where James just stared at her. Then he let out another snort, a ghost of a smile breaking through along with it. “Yeah, they are. God help us.”

* * *

Toni and Loki arrived just shy of the front steps of Xavier’s school. Loki had taken the time to scout ahead before their trip so that he’d know where to take them and where to land. They both knew that every single thing they did from the moment they arrived was going to be judged and assessed. With that in mind, the two had planned things out carefully. There were no two better showmen in the whole of the Nine Realms, after all.

Neither broke pose when they landed. Toni kept hold of Loki’s arm, and she kept her chin up. Beside her, Loki stood with all the regal bearing of any prince. It was really kind of hot. Though just about everything he did was, to be fair.

“Ready?” Toni murmured.

Loki brought his free hand up and pressed it over hers where it sat on his arm. It was the only answer he gave, yet it was enough. Together, the two made their way up the stairs in front of them.

When they reached the front door, Loki reached out and knocked, sharp and quick. Then the two stood and waited. Thankfully, it wasn’t long. Within moments the door was being pulled open and they were greeted by the sight of a young teenage girl with a suspicious look on her face, and gloves that ran up above her elbows. What Toni knew of the people here made it pretty clear who it was. _Rogue_. She was the only one that Toni knew of that wore gloves like that. Plus, the white streaks in the front of her hair were a dead giveaway.

“Hey there,” Toni said, smiling brightly at the girl. “I’m Dr. Ari Strange, and we’ve got an appointment with Professor Xavier.”

The girl’s eyes ran over Toni, a quick up-and-down sweep coupled with a small sneer that made it clear just what she thought of how Toni had dressed, and then she darted a look over at Loki. Her eyes hardened as they focused on him, and her whole body braced in instant preparation to fight. She had pretty good reflexes. “I know who _you_ are.”

The way Loki looked down his nose at her, the imperious lift of one eyebrow, was a silent _of course you do_. As if he simply expected everyone to know who he was. He said nothing, though, which was even more of a slap in the face than any words he could’ve used.

Toni leaned into him in a move meant to make sure that Rogue wouldn’t just launch straight at him. With any luck, she wouldn’t want to take out the person with Loki without knowing first whether or not she was bad. The pause it gave Rogue allowed Toni a second to speak and prevent any further trouble. Hopefully. “Like I said, _we_ have an appointment with the Professor. If you have a problem with that, I suggest you take it up with him.”

Rogue’s face hardened a little more. As did her grip on the door. “The Professor didn’t say nothin’ about having any big important meetings with people who tried to take over the planet.”

“Does he frequently check his schedule with you?” Loki asked dryly. He looked amused by the idea. Turning toward Toni, he patted at her hand. “Perhaps this was a bad idea, my dear. I was unaware this was a place run by _children_.”

Oh, he was getting extra snippy today! Toni hid the gleeful smirk that wanted to burst free.

Luckily for Rogue – who looked like she was ready to try and take Loki on right then and there – the girl was saved from whatever else might’ve come next by the sound of another voice, and then the presence of someone else. “Let ‘em in, Rogue.” The door was grabbed a second later and pulled open to reveal someone else that Toni knew, though not personally. More by reputation. Logan – Wolverine. The short, surly man glared at Loki, and gave Toni a look of strong consideration that made it clear he wasn’t one of those idiots who discounted someone as a threat just because they were small and female. “C’mon in,” he finally said, stepping back to make room. “Chuck’s expectin’ you.”

Walking into the house was kind of like walking a gauntlet of reporters. Only, there was no one in sight. Their audience kept disappearing behind doors or were likely somewhere watching on security cameras. Neither Toni nor Loki let it bother them. They walked with the confidence they were known for, treating this as if they were under countless eyes, and yet at the same time as if there were no eyes on them at all.

When they reached the end of a hallway and the wooden doors were opened, the two strolled in with what Toni knew quite a few people would label as arrogance. It was something Steve had talked to her about once, back in her timeline. A thing that Toni did that he didn’t understand, and that kind of drove him crazy. He’d said that Toni had a way of walking into a room like she owned the place. As if it were hers, no matter where they were at, and the rest of the people in the room were the guests. Toni had never been able to explain to him that it was deliberate.

There was a group of people already in the room when they got inside. Charles was parked beside his desk, a man and a woman were casually leaning against the desk as they talked to him, and then over by the sitting area was a gorgeous young man who turned toward them the instant they came in. It was just a small turn of his head at first, an instinctive acknowledgement of people coming in, only it was followed by a much longer look. In an instant, Toni found herself being sized up, and if she was reading him right, the grin he gave showed nothing but approval.

The guy was tall, slender, and was dressed in jeans, what looked to be a silk shirt, and a brown trench coat that swirled with him when he turned. Auburn hair hung down around a handsome face that was lit up by a roguish grin. Sunglasses hid his eyes, yet there was no doubt in Toni’s mind that he was looking at them.

To her utter delight, the man stepped up and executed a proper bow, sweeping his coat out for a little extra flourish as he did. Toni knew her eyes were twinkling with mirth when the man tipped his head up to smile at her, the most gorgeous pair of eyes peeking up from the tops of his sunglasses. Red and black, and utterly captivating. “_Bonjour, _Y’r Highnesses_._”

A wide grin lit up Toni’s face. “Oh, I like this one.”

Loki’s face didn’t give much away, but Toni knew how to read the lines around his eyes and the faint twitch of his lips. He was just as amused as she was. “He has far better manners than those we’ve seen thus far.”

“_Merci beaucoup_.” The man straightened up, holding out one hand as he did, and Toni delightedly let him take her hand and draw it up to press a kiss against her knuckles. “It’s a pleasure t’meet y’.” He made it even better by letting go of Toni’s hand, only to reach for Loki’s and offer the same gesture, something which made Loki’s hidden smile grow just a bit. “De both of y’.” The words were almost purred out, and the look that he shot up at Loki was pure sex. “Remy LeBeau, at y’r service.”

A snort came from behind them. Rogue had followed them, it seemed, and was leaning against the door frame, glaring over at Remy. “Lay off it, swamp rat.”

There was a miniscule flinch to Remy’s features that was almost perfectly hidden behind his sunglasses. Seeing it, well, there was no way Toni could let things end on that note. Whether this guy was really a bad person, or maybe the girl back there was an ex – she definitely had the bitterness for it – it didn’t matter. So far, Remy hadn’t done anything to deserve it. With that in mind, Toni leaned in a little more against Loki, and she offered Remy one of her best smiles. One that was far more real than the political one she’d been wearing so far. “At my service, hm? Now, _that_ sounds promising.”

She was rewarded with a quick, bright grin that made it clear this man could definitely charm just about anyone he wanted.

Loki hummed softly, the sound full of amusement. He reached out to pat Remy’s shoulder while drawing Toni further into the room. “She would break you, child.”

“_Mais oui_,” Remy agreed easily, almost dreamily, his smile never once fading. “What a way to go though, yeah?”

This time even Loki broke out into a smile. One of her favorite ones – the kind that lit up his face and warmed his eyes.

She wasn’t the only one to appreciate it, either. Remy was looking at him now with just as much blatant appreciation as he’d looked at Toni. “_Dieu_, de two of y’ are a deadly pair, aint y’?”

“In _so_ _many_ ways,” Toni teased him.

The Cajun’s grin grew just a bit salacious. He didn’t take her words as a threat, she could see, but as a _challenge_. “Always did have a t’ing for de dangerous ones.”

Their playful banter was cut off by one of the other guys in the room. Tall, thin, pink sunglasses – Scott Summers. He was one of the few that Toni had actually seen before, and not just as Cyclops, either. She’d seen photos of him and his wife, Jean, in her original timeline. The woman was beside him now, leaning against his side as Scott called out: “All right, that’s enough of that. Remy, you’ve got places to be, don’t you? So do you, Rogue.”

Remy took his dismissal easily. He gave them both another bow and a quick wink. “It was a pleasure to meet y’, de both of y’.”

To the room’s surprise, Loki folded one hand in front of his waist and gave a small version of Remy’s bow – a huge sign of respect from a visiting prince to one who wasn’t royalty. “And ours as well.”

It wasn’t until Remy and Rogue were gone, and the door was shut, that the rest of the room moved. Charles came out from behind his desk, where he’d been mostly hidden from view by Scott and Jean. Off to the other side, Logan was just standing there, arms crossed over his chest.

Charles brought his chair out and moved directly toward them, lifting one hand when he got close. “Prince Loki, Dr. Strange, thank you for coming to meet with me today.”

“Thanks for agreeing to meet with us,” Toni said, clasping his hand. She gave it a firm shake and followed it up with a shark’s grin when she let go. “Your welcoming committee leaves something to be desired, but your Cajun friend more than made up for it. However, I’d recommend letting your people know in the future when you’ve got important guests coming. Not everyone reacts as nicely as we did to being treated like shit on the bottom of someone’s shoe. Especially not when one is an actual Prince.”

Her blunt words clearly surprised most of the room. Charles was used to dealing with Tony – by this point in his/her life, they’d had quite a few conversations with Charles, and a decent friendship. Because of that, he was far too used to her eccentricities to be bothered by them. “I apologize for Rogue. Unfortunately, we tend to be a suspicious and protective bunch here.”

“Like I said, maybe next time let them know we’re coming. Might save you the trouble,” Toni pointed out. She used her hold on Loki to pull him toward the seating area in a clear power move that let the whole room know she might be here in their territory, but that didn’t mean she was just going to bow down.

Toni steered them to the couch where she and Loki sat down in the middle. He went easily with her, flowing down into his seat with all that enviable grace, and he sat tall and proud at her side. Toni sat equally proud beside him, crossing her legs and beaming up at Charles with a bright smile. “So! A giant purple alien is heading towards Earth to try and gain some magic stones so he can destroy half of the universe with a snap of his fingers. We’re gathering up allies to help us defend the planet from the shitstorm heading our way. You guys in?”

Their reactions were _priceless_. Scott startled, rising up to his feet and actually gaping a little at Toni, while beside him, his wife looked like someone had just slapped her in the face. Charles had a resigned and exasperated expression on his face. “Not quite the method I was planning on going about this,” he said, voice just a bit dry. “You always have had a taste for the dramatic.”

When Toni grinned even more, practically preening, Loki looked down at her fondly. “She does, doesn’t she?”

A snort from Logan’s direction turned their attention towards him. He’d moved forward to join them and was dropping down into a chair now. “Least she gives it to us straight.”

“Don’t count on that,” Toni teased him, not quite able to help herself. This guy looked gruff, surly, and kind of like he could snap her like a twig, and yet she found herself not in the least bit frightened of him. If anything, she kind of liked him so far. That was what prompted her to wink at him and warn him: “Word of advice, honey – never take anything said to you at face value. People might be telling you the truth, but it’s _their_ truth, not yours.”

“Are you telling me not to trust you?” Logan asked, furrowing his brow as he watched her face carefully.

Toni laughed at him. “Of course you shouldn’t – you barely even know me. Luckily for us, I’m not here to negotiate with _you_. I’m here to negotiate with Charles, and he trusts me for reasons I’ve never quite been able to understand.” She turned to look over at him next. “Though I didn’t expect quite so many people to be here during our negotiations.”

“This involves more than just me,” Charles said by way of explanation.

True. Even so, Toni had expected more that they’d talk to Charles, and then Charles would present things to his team at a later date. She mentally rearranged her plans to suit the new variable. This was important, and she wasn’t going to walk away from it without getting at least some of what she wanted. More than anything Toni wanted to be able to count on these guys as allies when the war finally came to their door. She wanted to be _prepared_. Thanos wasn’t going to catch her off guard again.

The same determination that had fueled Toni since she was first dropped back in time now served to straighten her spine and sharpen her features. Shoulders squared, chin up, she wore a shark’s smile as she looked to Charles and prepared to talk yet another person to her side.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, I'd forgotten about this in the wave of NaNo, which means I also haven't gotten around to replying to comments! I will once I get through this next NaNo burst, I promise. Until then, I hope you enjoyed this!


	3. Chapter 3

Yet again having to sit and give a basic explanation of the threat coming their way wasn’t something that Toni was fond of. Nor Loki, to be honest. They both knew it was the kind of story that was hard to believe without active proof. It was also hard to _say_. Especially with the kind of memories that it dredged up for both of them. But, it was necessary, and so Toni laid out in simple terms just what they were potentially looking at here. She didn’t give her own story – they hadn’t earned _that_ – just an explanation of who Thanos was and what he wanted. If her explanation was missing a few key details, well, they didn’t have to know that. There were some things she wasn’t quite ready to share with them yet. Especially not when there was no alliance contract between them.

By the time she was done, most of the room was staring at her, though she had to admit there was far less shock than she’d expected to see.

Loki must’ve been thinking along the same lines. “I have to say, you’re all taking the news of your imminent destruction far better than I expected.”

“This isn’t the first global threat we’ve faced,” Scott said.

It was Logan who drew their conversation neatly to where Toni wanted it to be. “I get the feelin’ you guys aint here just to let us know. You mentioned allies before.”

A wide, bright grin lit up Toni’s face. “Oh yeah. We’re gathering as many as we can. Charlie here and your little rag-tag bunch were pretty much at the top of my list. After Asgard, that is. But I’ve already got them, plus an Avenger or two.”

“I’m not trying to sound rude, but I have to ask. Why exactly is it that we need an alliance with _you_?” Scott asked. He tilted his head, studying them from behind the safety of his sunglasses. His tone wasn’t _rude_, but it wasn’t what Toni would call _friendly_ either. There was just a hint of a challenge under his words. “I’m not trying to deny the need for alliances. It’s clear we need them. I just don’t understand why _you_, someone who I’ve never even heard of before, someone who isn’t even military or super or a mutant.”

Scott looked around the others, all of whom were watching him, and then back at Toni, his own expression inscrutable. “I’m not trying to insult you, Dr. Strange. I get that you’re connected to Asgard, and allied with them, but so are the Avengers. If you’re basing Asgard’s help on the fact that you’re allied with Loki and Asgard won’t abandon him, the same theory goes for Thor, too. So, why should we speak with you instead of speaking directly with them? They seem like the more practical group to ally with. You two… haven’t really explained who you are, or why you’re fighting against them. Or why we should even trust you.”

Beside her, it was easy to feel how Loki had tensed. Toni didn’t try to comfort him. She didn’t want to give away the game. Instead, she angled her chin up and met Scott’s stare with all the poise and calm she’d learned at her mother’s knee and her father’s hand. “Because I’m the only one with the knowledge of what’s coming our way, I’m the one with the knowledge of what Thanos is seeking, and I’m the one with the connections to people who know how to find those things and how to properly contain them.”

Scott opened his mouth to say something, only to get cut off by Toni.

She folded her arms over her knee and then leaned forward, resting her weight on them in a way she knew showed off more cleavage, but also gave her a slightly threatening edge. “You want to make an alliance with the Avengers instead of me, you go right ahead, Bright Eyes. Will it affect my plans?” She sat back in her chair, waving vaguely with one hand as she did. “Yeah, sure, it might set me back a little. But I could just tell Tony what I need, and he’d see that it got done. He’s pretty awesome like that. Would it be easier to deal with you directly? Yeah, of course it would, but I’d cope.” Once more, Toni’s smirk turned sharp, not just with threat but with an amusement that she knew would put his hackles up. “Make no mistake here, sweetheart. You need me far more than _I_ need you.”

The pinched look on Scott’s face was more amusing than it probably should’ve been. Toni met his gaze without a flinch. Her smirk stayed in place. The only thing she did was arch an eyebrow at him. She’d laid everything out on the table for them. Now, it was up to them what they wanted to do.

Still, she had to admit that she wasn’t surprised when Charles said: “She’s right.”

“Are you sure, Professor?” Jean asked. She darted a look at Toni and then focused down at Charles.

Charles nodded, though he didn’t look away from Toni as he did. “While it could’ve been handled better, Dr. Strange makes a valid point. I’ve already spoken with Tony Stark, and he’s verified everything she’s told us. Including that she’s their main source of information and one that he trusts implicitly. He and I also agreed that it would be in the best interests of both our parities right now if we could keep our teams separate in the eyes of the public. Public opinion changes so quickly. There’s no need to tarnish one group by association with the other. Come time to fight is soon enough for the world to know our allegiances.”

Oh, God bless Tony. Mentally, Toni made a note to do something amazing for Tony later after all this. Even being upset with her didn’t stop him from doing everything possible to help her out. He’d gone above and beyond with Charles here.

“I know that Tony has plans in place for how to improve the public image of both parties, plus some other things that he’ll probably want to send your way,” Toni said as she relaxed back into her seat once more. “A few PR plans, some legal documents he wants your opinion on, things of the like.” She knew that Charles would understand what she was talking about. From what Tony said, the two had touched briefly on the idea of the Accords together.

Charles must’ve made the connection because he gave a small nod. He moved on, though, not lingering on it. “This is a lot of information for all of us to take in. Mr. Stark suggested you have some preliminary documents prepared for us?”

“We do indeed,” Loki said, waving a hand and making a folder appear in Charles’ lap.

For the most part, Loki had been silent throughout this meeting. He’d sat back and let Toni take the lead, something that she hadn’t expected. The amount of _trust_ it showed had her wanting to leap on him and show her own appreciation. For now, she restrained herself, choosing instead to slowly rise to her feet. “Why don’t we leave those here with you to look at, Charlie boy? You and your teams go over what we put in there, see what you like and what you don’t, and you can get a hold of me with any changes you’d like made.”

“A week should suffice, I believe,” Loki chimed in. He rose with her, one hand in the small of Toni’s back to steady her as they went.

Toni nodded her agreement. “Definitely. You guys take the week, message me about changes, and if we can get it all squared away, we’ll be back in a week to officially sign documents. How’s that sound?”

Originally the plan had been to hash out the negotiations here and now. It was what Tony would’ve preferred to do. But with the volatile emotions in the room, the way that Scott was still looking at her like he didn’t trust her in the least bit, all those things told Toni it’d be better to let them just sit on this for a while. They needed time for emotions to cool down so that they’d be able to talk about this with level heads. That definitely wasn’t going to happen with her and Loki here.

Charles seemed to be of the same mind. He nodded his agreement easily enough. “Thank, Prince Loki, Dr. Strange. I appreciate both the visit and the time.”

“No problem.” Toni waved a hand dismissively. Then she leaned in toward Loki and slid that hand around his waist. Her other hand lifted just enough that she could wiggle her fingers at them. “Toodles!”

She didn’t even have to ask – Loki teleported them out of there without a word needing to be said. Only, to Toni’s surprise, he didn’t teleport them to the front of the house, or the living room, or anywhere else she might’ve expected. No, he took them straight to their bedroom. Toni only got a glimpse of the room around her, just enough to realize, and then Loki was lifting a hand and casting silencing wards around their room. There was a heat in his eyes that dried up all the spit in Toni’s mouth. “Lokes?”

The arm that was still around Toni’s waist gave a tug that drew her in until their fronts were pressed together. She was forced to tip her head back just to be able to meet his gaze. When she did, she sucked in a breath at the raw lust he didn’t even bother hiding. That breath was lost when his hips pressed into her, and she could _feel_ it as well as see it.

“You were stunning,” Loki murmured, his voice gone just a bit husky. “Watching you take charge was exhilarating.”

“You could’ve stepped in at any point. We _are_ a team.”

His lips curved into a devilish smirk that was _oh so _full of promise. “I liked watching you. The way you commanded the room as if everyone were only there to serve your whims. You’ve the bearing of a Queen, Toni.” Leaning in, he brushed his nose against hers, and then his lips, using his hold on her to draw her up onto her toes so that he had to bend down that much less. “_My_ Queen.”

The words sent a shiver down Toni’s spine. For a moment, she let herself get lost in the light kisses that he was teasing her with. She lifted her arms, curling her hands over the back of his neck, and she allowed him to tease her for just a little. But then she was tugging, pulling him down into a kiss that was harder, deeper, full of the same blazing lust that he always inspired in her.

When they pulled apart, Loki’s pupils were dilated, and he was breathing heavily. Toni grinned at the sight. So, he’d liked watching her take command, had he? She could _absolutely_ do that.

She drew her hands away from his neck, one going to rest on his heart and the other moving up to cup his cheek. “Get out of those clothes and go lay down on the bed, and I’ll show you who’s in charge here, baby.”

It was no surprise when Loki simply vanished from in front of her. By the time she turned to the bed, he was already lying there gloriously nude and completely unashamed of it. Propped up by pillows, his legs loosely spread, he truly looked like the god he was. Beautiful. Ethereal. _Mine_.

Toni smiled as she set forward to prove just that to him.

* * *

It took a few hours before the two finally made their way downstairs. Judging by the blank looks that James and Eir both shot them when they stepped out to join them in the backyard, the two had known they were home even with the silencing wards up. The only way for that to happen – “JARVIS told you we were home, didn’t he?” Toni asked curiously while she made her way to the empty patio seat, a cup of coffee already in hand.

James snorted at her. “Least someone around here has some manners.”

“One of us has to.” She grinned at his disgruntled look. “Oh, calm down, Terminator. We went, we saw, we came home, we fucked. At no point in there were we hurt in any way that we didn’t give express consent to.” Tilting her head, she watched Loki as he sat down in the chair next to hers, a glass of iced tea in his hand. His other hand was rubbing absently at the side of his neck where she’d tried her best to leave a mark for him. Between his tougher physiology and his magic healing him, none really showed up or stuck around. But he still liked to touch back on those spots like they were there.

The sound of someone loudly clearing their throat broke through Toni’s thoughts. She looked away from Loki’s neck only to find that everyone was looking at her. Loki’s grin was amused, and just a bit proud, while both Eir and James seemed ready to roll their eyes at her.

“Do you believe they’ll make the alliance you need, my lady?” Eir asked, bringing them back to the subject at hand.

Toni took a sip from her coffee cup and cradled it between her hands as she drew her legs up into the chair and got comfortable. “I think they will. They’re not exactly thrilled at the idea of making an alliance with some nobody and the guy they thought was evil, but I think they’ll do it.”

“Why do you want ‘em all allying to you?” James asked.

That was, at the core, the very same question that Scott had asked her. But unlike with him, Toni had no trouble answering James. Back with the X-Men, she’d been playing her part. That part wasn’t needed here. Not with her friends – her family. With them, Toni was free to sigh a little and run her hand through her newly shortened hair in a way that wasn’t artful or practiced, and honestly just made it all curl and stand up even more, giving her a massive case of bedhead. That combined with the fact that she was sitting there in just shorts and one of Loki’s t-shirts presented quite a different image from the poised and controlled woman she’d shown before.

“Honestly, it’s not that I want them allied to _me_ specifically.” Toni took another drink of her coffee as she tried to put her words into order. To find some way to make them make sense. “I made a contract between Loki and I specifically because it was the right thing to do in that situation. I honestly thought it would give me an in without putting me near the frontlines, too, which was what I wanted. Originally, my plan was to find a way to tie myself to each faction and use those ties to draw everyone toward where they need to be while keeping out of the spotlight. It was part of why I wanted the contracts in the first place. I didn’t want to give anyone the chance to betray me to anyone else. A contract could mean that they’d be forced to keep my presence a secret.”

“So, you wanted to be like a puppet master, pulling strings without ever getting involved?”

James' words had her wincing. “That sounds so cold when you put it like that. I didn’t want to control everything, not the way you’re thinking. I just, I wanted the ability to make sure that things were getting done. Because the last time I left everyone to it, I ended up in space with some assholes and a _kid_ trying to take down a deckward no one had believed me was even coming.”

Agitation pushed Toni up to her feet. She deliberately avoided looking at the others as she marched over to the bar where the coffee pot was.

It was Loki who spoke into the silence she’d left behind. His voice wasn’t confrontational or accusatory. Instead, he sounded calm and understanding, as if he were simply stating facts. “You wanted to be able to control the flow of information to guarantee that everyone was aware of the threat, while also making sure to keep you out of it. Were you to have an alliance with each individual party, you’d be able to make sure they were all aware and prepared, and use your influence to steer them toward one another, all while making sure they kept your name out of it.”

Toni kept her back to the group of them while she poured a fresh cup of coffee. “It’s better for everyone if I stay out of the way. This world doesn’t need me in it. Not once Thanos is dead.” There was no simpler truth than that. _If_ she survived Thanos, there was no place for her here. The world already had one Tony Stark. It didn’t need a second one.

Without looking to the others, Toni turned around and headed for the door, leaving a quiet group behind.

* * *

A week after their initial meeting – which had been filled with phone calls, faxes, and a whole lot of long-distance negotiation – the two groups had finally come up with an alliance contract that benefited both of them. The fact that Toni put it all in a contract at all had been one point of contention between her and the X-Men. Only Charles and, surprisingly, _Logan_, had seemed to understand why Toni wanted everything documented and laid out in black and white. But Toni wasn’t going to take any chances. She wanted documented _proof_ of the agreements between them. Being a businesswoman at heart, it was what made the most logical sense.

Now that the documents were ready, it was time to go back out there and put their signatures on it. After that, they would truly be allies, and they could begin to plan. Toni knew that meant there was going to be a rather large meeting. One with most of the X-Men in the house. It would be time for Toni to explain why she was there, what they were doing, and what was coming their way. These people needed to know so they could be prepared.

This time, however, they wouldn’t be going alone.

“You left us behind last time,” Eir said firmly, arms crossed over her chest and a glare on her face. The group of them had gathered in the living room when Toni let them know it was time to go. To no one’s surprise, both Eir and James had protests about the two simply leaving. “You’re not doing so again, Your Highness.”

James just stood as a matching silent statue of disapproval at her side.

Hands on her hips, Toni looked back and forth between the two of them. “You know, I’m not liking this whole ‘gang up on Toni’ business we’ve got going here.” When that did absolutely nothing to deter their glares, she sighed. “Fine. Fine! Let’s go to the signing of our alliance with _bodyguards_. Cause that just screams trust and respect.”

“It screams intelligence,” James said, looking way, way too smug now that he knew he was getting his way.

Eir nodded her agreement. “The final signing of peace treaties, alliances, and any other negotiation is the prime time for assassination attempts. It is often common to bring guards along to protect all parties until the documents have been signed and witnessed, to ensure no foul play affects the proceedings.”

“_Assassination attempts_?” Toni’s eyebrows shot up toward her hairline. “Are you kidding me? You think someone on the X-Men is going to try and kill us?”

Her incredulous tone didn’t have any effect on Eir. The woman simply stood calmly at attention. “I think it’s my job to ensure that doesn’t happen, Your Highness.”

A look to Loki for help had only earned Toni a cheeky grin and a shrug. In the end, all she could do was throw her hands up in the air and roll her eyes. If the two wanted to play security, they could go ahead and play security. It wasn’t like it’d do any harm to let them follow around behind her. It might be uncomfortable – she still wasn’t used to the idea that her friends had taken on the roles of guards – but if it was what made them happy so be it.

If they were all going to go, however, there was no reason that they couldn’t make a day out of it and enjoy themselves. Toni had been wanting to get out of the house lately just to get out. Not for a business trip, or to go to town to work, but to just _go_. They could easily combine that with heading out to sign their alliance documents. Nothing said they couldn’t have fun on their way there.

“You know, it’s gotta be only like two or three hours to get there.” That really wasn’t that far. Toni turned to look out the window, taking in the bright sunshine. This was an important visit, and one they _needed_ to do, but it wasn’t vital that they arrive in the next two minutes. They could get away with having a nice, leisurely drive.

The more she thought about it, the more it appealed to her. Toni couldn’t remember the last time she was able to drive somewhere and just enjoy the drive. Not since – God! – not since she’d driven at the race in Monaco ages and ages ago. Sure, that had ended in absolute _shit_ thanks to Vanko and the fact that she’d been dying at the time, but the driving itself had been amazing and _fun_.

When Toni looked up, she found Loki watching her with a resigned look on his face, and his lips quirked up ever-so-slightly in a smile that held more fondness than he probably meant to show. “Which of your cars shall we be taking?”

Toni’s answer was a bright, beaming smile.

* * *

Fifteen minutes later, Toni came bounding down the stairs, having taken a moment to change into something more comfortable for the trip. If she was going to go out in the sunshine with the man she loved and her friends, she was going to do it in style. To that end, she’d pulled on a pair of artfully cutoff jean shorts and a Guns N Roses crop top with a long crochet white vest over it all. She’d grabbed a pair of big red sunglasses, too, that she’d mostly bought because they amused the hell out of her. A pair of black strappy sandals completed the outfit.

She wasn’t the only one to have changed. Loki had dressed down, at least for him, and changed into a pair of skinny jeans – so much cooler in this heat than his usual leather – and a fitted tank top. His jacket was draped over his arm, which she knew he’d put on once they were there to give himself the dignified air he liked to present everywhere. But for now his hair was down, his jacket was off, and he was smiling at her like _she_ was the edible one.

“Oh, now that’s not fair.” Seeing him dressed so casually threw Toni for a loop at the same time that it _did things_ to her. Half of it was the look itself, but the other half was seeing him so comfortable in himself that he wasn’t hiding under all his usual layers. There was so much pale skin on display. Toni wanted to chase every inch of it with her tongue.

Loki’s smug smirk said that he read that thought on her face, and he approved.

Shaking her head, Toni dismissed those thoughts for a better time. Though it was more than a little tempting to delay their trip for a little way, send James and Eir back inside and drag Loki into the garage, lay him out on the hood of one of her cars, the Spyder maybe…

“Later,” Loki said, breaking into her thoughts. He was still grinning, the bastard.

It took a lot of effort to banish those thoughts. Toni shook her head again before she could think clearly. “Asshole.” If she put an extra sway in her step when she walked down the front stairs, well, he deserved it.

Opening up the garage revealed Toni’s small collection of cars. She’d added a few more recently, just for fun. James and Eir were both in there waiting for them when she and Loki walked in, the two dressed in their respective Asgardian Guard and Winter Soldier uniforms. Neither one said anything at first. They just watched as Toni strolled past a couple cars and made her way towards the one at the back.

She knew when they’d realized which car she was heading toward. Loki made a low sound of amusement, while James gave a loud and clear, “Are you fucking with me?”

Toni stopped next to her Volkswagen Beetle, a cute little yellow convertible, and turned to flash them all a grin. “It’s the perfect car! Good gas mileage, and it’s a great day to ride with the top down. Plus, it’ll get us there without attracting a ton of attention, which is a good idea with two Asgardians and an ex-Hydra assassin in the car.”

Crossing his arms over his chest, James leveled her with a glare that was probably supposed to be intimidating. It was less effective when you’d see the man dragging through the house in Iron Man pajama bottoms and one hell of a case of bed-head. “I aint getting in that.”

“Either get in or walk, Tasty Freeze.”

“There aint no way we're gonna fit!” James snapped, gesturing at the car with his gloved hand, hiding the metal underneath. Then he looked around at the other cars. “Eir and I can take another car.”

Toni scoffed at that. Like hell if she was going to let him drive one of her cars! “Yeah, right. When was the last time you actually drove a car? In this century? You're not getting behind the wheel of one of my babies!” She pulled a set of keys from her pocket and jingled them at him. Then she turned and unlocked the car, opening the door and sliding down inside. Once she was seated, she slipped the keys into the ignition and grinned as the car purred to life.

Pulling a ponytail from her pocket, Toni quickly and easily gathered up her hair and made a quick French braid, the very first hairstyle she’d learned how to do. As she tied the ponytail off at the end, she tilted her head up to grin at her friends. “It’s your choice. Either get in or stay here, Sparkles.”

What other choice did they have? They got in.

It amused the hell out of Toni to listen to them all grumble as they got inside. Loki was the only one who seemed to fit comfortably in his seat. He looked down as if surprised by that idea. “This is far more spacious than I thought it was.”

“Says you,” James grumbled behind him. He and Eir were trying to figure out how to fit themselves down into their seats without knocking into the seats in front of them or having to leave behind any weapons. In the end, it took a little bit of magic from Loki to extend the seats back a few inches – with Toni’s permission, of course.

Once they were all settled, Toni set out from the garage, a wide grin on her face. The feel of the car underneath her was enough to take away some of the recent tension. She’d always loved driving. Almost as much as she loved flying. There was something about the pedals under her feet, the wheel in her hand, the vibrations of the engine. It was one of her favorite things. Especially when she’d had a chance to fix the car up the way she had this one.

With the sun out and the top down, it was a perfect day for a drive. Toni grinned as she kept one hand on the wheel, the other reaching out to curl over Loki’s thigh. A look showed that he was just as relaxed as she was. He’d slumped down in his seat a little, knees spread, one arm up on the back of Toni’s seat while the other rested along the top of his door. Toni had tossed a pair of sunglasses at him as they’d pulled out, and he wore them now, shielding his eyes from the sun. There was a faint smile curving his lips, and he had his head tilted back as if to enjoy the breeze.

Reaching forward, Toni flicked on the radio, beaming when Whitesnake started playing. She cranked it up loud, flashing a grin at the look that Loki gave her, getting a smirk and a headshake in return. Toni ignored it to start tapping against the wheel as she sang along with the music.

* * *

For a little over an hour, they drove without stopping, just enjoying the company and music. They were just outside the city when Toni caught sight of something on one of the signs they passed by. Without hesitation she flicked on her blinker and took the next exit.

Loki looked around him for a moment, clearly curious, and then reached over to turn down the music to a low hum. “This doesn’t look to be our destination.”

“It’s not,” Toni agreed easily. She slowed down as she took their exit, following the curve of the road when it wrapped around. “But it’s hot, and I’m hungry, so I thought I’d kill two birds with one stone.” Lifting one hand off the wheel, she gestured at the little ice cream shop that was just down the road from them. “Anyone feel like ice cream?”

To her surprise, both Loki and Eir asked: “What is ice cream?”

Toni looked over at Loki in shock, and then lifted her gaze to the rearview to look at Eir, just to make sure they were serious. Judging by the looks on their faces, they were. “Oh my God.” She couldn’t believe it. Pulling in at the ice cream shop, she waited until the car was in park before she spun to face the two, not even bothering to turn the engine off yet. “You poor, deprived children. Asgardians don’t have ice cream? Sugar, artificial flavor, cream, all frozen together in this soft gooey goodness?”

“No?” Eir said slowly, looking at Loki and then back at Toni.

Between them, Toni shared a horrified look with James, glad to see that there was someone else around who understood the gravity of the situation. “Okay, well, we’re fixing that _right now_,” Toni declared. She was already reaching for her keys and pushing open the car door. “Come on, come on. I’m not standing back and letting something like this just _happen_. No one should live their life without eating ice cream!”

She didn’t even think anything of it as she grabbed Loki’s hand and started to drag him forward, their friends following behind.

The ice cream shop wasn’t large, just a few tables and chairs inside, though there were plenty more outside. Two people were running the counter, and only a few customers were around. All of them gave the group a strange look as they came in. Though most of those looks were for the two silent and angry-looking people that followed them in. Toni had already dragged Loki up to the display of tubs to start checking out the flavors. She didn’t even notice the looks they were getting.

“Oh, man, look! This is amazing. They’ve got weird-ass flavors,” Toni said gleefully as she looked from tub to tub.

It took her a second to realize that Loki had stilled beside her. When she tilted her face up toward him, his brows were furrowed down, and if she had to place his expression, it would’ve been somewhere between confused and disgusted. “They have flavors here that taste of… ass?”

For one second, Toni went completely still. She needed that moment to process what the hell it was he was asking her. What words had actually just come out of his mouth. When it finally clicked, and she played it back a few times just to make sure, her mouth dropped open in surprise. Then she dissolved into husky laughter that drew the attention of the patrons around them. Toni didn’t care. She grabbed Loki’s arm and clutched at her own stomach as she bent double, laughing until tears were streaming down her cheeks.

Behind her, she heard a low “Oh Jesus” from James that only made her laugh even harder.

Eventually, somehow, Toni managed to get her laughter mostly under control. Enough that only the occasional giggle escaped. Still holding Loki’s arm, she leaned heavily against him and grinned up at him. He was stiff, one eyebrow arched up, yet there was a ghost of a smile tugging at one corner of his mouth like he couldn’t quite resist her good humor. Seeing that look, Toni couldn’t help herself. She stretched up enough to press a quick kiss against his lips. “You’re amazing, and I love you.”

“I love you too.” The words were reflexive, yet no less honest, even with the confusion still there in his voice.

Toni kept on beaming as she threaded her hand through his arm to curl in the crook of his elbow. “Their ice cream isn’t actually ass flavored. Weird-ass is just a way of saying extremely weird. Though, my ass would taste _amazing_ as ice cream. Or any part of me, really.”

There was a discreet cough from Eir, and another grumble from James. “You two are disgustin’,” James told them bluntly. “We hear enough of that shit at home. Go order your ice cream so we can get the hell outta here.”

“Just for that, I’m ordering you the weirdest flavor on the menu!” Toni threatened him cheerfully.

The ladies behind the counter didn’t really seem to know what to make of any of them. Especially not when Toni gleefully ordered the cayenne chocolate for James, almost cackling as she did. In the end, each one of them had a two-scoop cone with two different flavors on it. Toni made sure to pay the people way too much for their help and patience. Then she gathered everyone up and dragged them outside and over to the table nearest the car. There, she climbed right up onto the table and plopped down, looking happily at her salted caramel sorbet with rum raising. The fact that it was called _Sugar Daddy_ was half the reason she’d ordered it.

Eir stood near them, watching everyone while at the same time dubiously looking down at her cone of strawberry and grape. So far, Toni had noticed she wasn’t a fan of strong or spicy things, so she’d helped the woman pick out two sweet yet plain ones. Loki, who sat down on the table beside Toni and stretched his long legs out, had a cone with peach and strawberry lavender.

James leaned against the side of the car, putting him in a position that allowed him to watch over them, the people around them, and any incoming cars. Though he was clearly on guard, there was also a small smile on his lips as he gave his cone – cayenne chocolate and mudslide – a tasting lick. He looked surprised by the flavor yet pleased, too, and that made this little stop worth it. For all that James was settling in and growing comfortable around them, smiles were still hard to come by. Especially since he’d had his therapy session with Laura yesterday. Any smile that Toni could gain out of him was a definite plus in her books.

Toni happily ate her own ice cream while watching the two Asgardians try theirs. From what she could see, Eir seemed to like the strawberry okay, though she lit up a little at the grape flavor. Like James, she wasn’t a big smiler, and often looked serious even when relaxed. Toni was having a blast teaching these two serious soldiers how to have a little fun in their lives.

Watching Loki eat was more of a pleasure, though. Not just the way he gave these little kitten licks that put way too many inappropriate thoughts into her head, either. Unlike the others, he didn’t bother toning down his joy at his treat, looking surprised and yet clearly pleased as he tried the peach. The strawberry lavender, which was the bottom scoop, earned a closed-eye look of bliss, which was more than worth the glare she got when she snapped a picture of him.

“Again with the camera?” He arched one eyebrow at her. A princely look of disdain that was offset by the hint of ice cream on his upper lip.

A wide grin split Toni’s face. “Is it my fault you’re gorgeous?”

“And you’re ridiculous.”

Still, it didn’t escape Toni’s notice how he lifted his chin just the slightest bit, or the pleased look in his eyes, preening under her compliments. It made Toni wonder just how many people in Asgard were _blind_. They had to be to not appreciate looks like Loki’s. Yeah, sure, didn’t have muscles the size of Toni’s head the way that Thor did, but that was fine by her. Toni wasn’t interested in someone like that. She’d never been a fan of the whole big muscled look. No, her tastes quite different than that. She liked her men long and lean, and capable of killing her with a thought.

Toni grinned at her own thoughts. If JARVIS could hear her now, he’d be groaning and pointing out just how unhealthy that way of thinking was.

One of Loki’s eyebrows lifted up in a curious look. “Dare I ask what makes you grin that way?”

In answer, Toni winked. “Wouldn’t you like to know?”

That got her a soft, fond smile from Loki, and a groan from James, which only served to make Toni’s grin a bit smug. She settled down into her seat and happily took another lick of her ice cream. It felt amazingly good to be sitting here with Loki, Eir, and James, and to just be able to be in public and relax. They were away from what was essentially their ‘hometown’ and yet there was no fear of being discovered here. No worries that someone might recognize them. Toni didn’t have to sit here the whole time wondering about whether or not someone was going to look at her and recognize her. Whether a paparazzi was going to come out of the woodworks, or that the people over at the other table were going to take pictures and sell them online.

To the people nearby, she was just some strange girl with even stranger companions. Eir, with her mostly Asgardian uniform, probably drew more attention than Toni did. Though, Loki had promised her that he’d glamoured it so James’ metal arm and both his and Eir’s weapons wouldn’t be seen by any strangers out here.

Still, he hadn’t put a glamour on _her_. Toni was just simply not someone important enough for these people to watch. And that… that was one hell of an amazing feeling.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It was taking me a long time to edit all this, and I keep forgetting it in the the wake of my elf-mage-Tony story I'm working on, so I'm going to go ahead and just post a bunch of chapters and finish editing later :P Enjoy!

They took their time enjoying their ice cream. Judging by how happy the others were, it was a definite success, and Toni was quite pleased with herself as they all set back out on the road. She put on music, but kept it low, enjoying the teasing conversation that grew around them. While they were a group made of up people who tended to spend a good chunk of time _quiet_, in the right circumstances they could all be talkers.

It was Eir who drew them away from some of their joking conversation to curiously ask, “I was wondering – compared to how you dressed last time, you seem to have gone for quite the opposite look this time. Yet wouldn’t a formal signing of papers be a reason to dress up _more_?”

The fact that Eir felt comfortable enough to actually ask them that was something that made Toni look up at her rearview mirror to grin at the woman. Back at the start there was no way Eir would’ve dared ask a question like that to her Prince, or even to Toni. Now, though she sounded hesitant, her voice was steady.

“Yes and no,” Toni answered her. “If you’re going to make a big productions out of it, then yeah, you wanna dress up. But we’re not going and doing this in front of a bunch of people. We won’t have some big audience, or the press, or anything like that. It’s just gonna be us and Charlie boy signing this, and then we’ve been invited to join them afterward for a barbeque. They’ll probably have some questions for us. From what I get, Charlie just explained it all to them last night. But for the most part, we’re just going to be hanging out and getting to know our new allies afterward. I wasn’t really in the mood to do that in formalwear.”

To say the least. As pretty as some of that formalwear was, and as much of a statement as it could make, that didn’t mean it was _comfortable._ If Toni could get away with dressing _comfortable _over _pretty_, she was going to do it.

“We wanted to make an impression the first time around,” Loki chimed in. He twisted in his seat so that he was facing toward Toni, making him able to look in the backseat at their companions. One of his hands came up to lazily wave through the air as he spoke. “One that went over quite well. This time, we want to make them see us as people they can feel safe working with.”

They were trying to humanize themselves, essentially. Get the X-Men to see them as people in the hopes that they’d all be able to work together better in the future. Because working together was going to be unavoidable. While the X-Men were probably the best prepared for fighting off an alien threat considering their experience at fighting against people with powers, and people who were outside their weight class, they still needed to learn how to fight against what was coming. How to protect themselves. Their best bets for that were Toni and Loki.

Toni tried to gear herself up for that as they finally reached the X-Mansion.

It was more than a little amusing to get stopped at the gate and have to be buzzed in. Toni could just imagine their faces at the sight of her car. The bright, cheerful yellow Volkswagen looked so out of place as she drove it up the long driveway and parked it right there in front of the house. Anyone watching was probably a bit stunned by the group that got out, too. They were a motley bunch. Toni looked at them all once they got out and felt her heart swell a little with the sentiment she often tried to deny she had. _God I love these idiots_.

Toni and Loki came together at the base of the stairs. They moved together with an ease that still baffled Toni sometimes. Yet she couldn’t deny how easy it was to step up to Loki’s side, or how it was becoming instinctive to curl her hand into the crook of his arm and allow him to escort her forward. They didn’t hold hands like many couples did. Mostly, Toni figured it was for the logistics of it, their heights making it an awkward gesture for them both, but also because neither one of them really liked their hands being restrained. Loki’s hands were used for magic, defense, offense, things of the like, and Toni rarely said anything without moving her hands around.

Their friends fell into step behind them as they easily slipped into the roles of guards. Today, it seemed like James was Toni’s guard, while Eir stayed on Loki’s side, the two keeping a watchful eye out now that they were in _unfamiliar territory_.

The door opened just as Toni and Loki reached the top step. To Toni’s surprise, no student greeted them today. It was Charles himself.

Her surprise must’ve shown. Charles smiled at her. “I thought I would meet you myself today and save you any trouble.”

“How kind, Professor,” Loki said smoothly.

“I have everything prepared down in my office. So long as you’re comfortable with it, I’ve asked Logan to act as a witness for my side.”

Toni nodded as she and Loki followed the professor inside. “That works for us. We talked to James, and he’s willing to act as witness for our side.” They both needed a witness there to sign along with their own signatures. It made everything more official. _Like a marriage_, Toni thought with amusement, and then had to bite the inside of her cheek to keep herself from laughing.

The actual signing of their alliance didn’t really take all that much time. Toni, Loki, and Charles all gave one last read-through, Loki enchanted the paper the same way he had for the one between him and Toni – something that made Logan tense, but that they’d already ironed out with Charles before this – and then everyone put their signatures.

As soon as it was done, Charles took his copy, Loki magicked away _their_ copy, and Toni was free to turn a bright smile to Charles. “I’m really glad we did this, Charlie.”

“As am I… Dr. Stark.”

It felt so strange hearing that. Especially out in the open like this. Behind her, Toni felt James and Eir go from mostly at-ease to on high-alert, and she winced, realizing they didn’t know about this part of things. Quickly she turned, holding out a calming hand their direction. “Woah, woah, it’s okay guys, chill. I ah, I might’ve forgot to mention that Charlie here was going to let Logan know who I am. No one else so far, don’t worry! But I can’t exactly sign a binding contract under an alias, and I can’t use my actual name with a witness here without giving it all away.”

“I’m not after telling anyone, either,” Logan said plainly. He stood near Charles, arms crossed over his chest and a cigar between his teeth. He looked both dangerous and yet not. A solid, steady presence that was just as much a protective guard as Eir and James were, yet with an almost _wilder_ air about him.

Smiling brightly, Toni gestured his way. “See! So, it’s all good. No worries here. Outside this room, I’m still Dr. Ari, don’t worry.”

The blank look from Eir and the slight glare – well, more so than he already had on – from James told Toni she’d be hearing about this later. For now, she just brushed it off.

“All righty then!” Toni clapped her hands together before once more taking hold of Loki’s arm. “You mentioned a barbeque afterward, right? I mean, I was pretty sure I caught a hint noise when we pulled up, and I’m Loki made an amazing array of pasta and fruit salads to snap on over. What do you say we go eat them?”

Loki huffed a little, shaking his head when Toni looked up at him. “Subtle, my dear.”

“Gross.” Toni wrinkled her nose at him just for fun. “Who the hell would want to do that? It sounds disgusting.”

“It’s good to see that some things never change,” Charles said dryly.

They were all still poking fun as Charles and Logan led them out of the office and through the house. This time, they took a different turn at the end of the hallway, heading toward the back of the house instead of the front of it. It didn’t take long before Logan opened up the doors and Charles was leading them out to a back patio that was clearly full of quite a few of the house residents. Some, Toni knew, while others were unfamiliar to her.

All eyes turned to them the minute they were outside. Toni stayed standing tall beside Loki and gave her very best press smile while Charles introduced them. “Everyone, I’d like you to meet our guests, Prince Loki, of Asgard, and Dr. Arianna Strange.”

Some of the people looked like they didn’t quite know what to make of them. Or, more accurately, the two clear bodyguards that stood behind them. The fact that Charles didn’t introduce them probably didn’t help. But Toni had to give these guys credit. They all recovered pretty quickly. In no time, Toni found herself bombarded by people all there to shake her hand or make their own introductions.

They’d already met Scott, Jean, Logan, Rogue, and Remy last time. This time, they got the chance to meet and shake hands with a gorgeous woman by the name of Ororo, whose dark skin and white hair gave her away as Storm, and few kids that Toni hadn’t recognized right off the bat, though she knew their names once they said them. Bobby Drake—Iceman, Warren Worthington—Angel, Betsy—Psylocke, Piotr—Colossus, Jubilation Lee—Jubilee, and a tough looking guy who glared at their guards and went by the name Bishop. There were others, Charles told them, but they were either away with work, or at the other school.

However, there was one more that Toni got to meet, and she beamed at him when she shook his hand. “Dr. McCoy, I’m thrilled to be able to meet you. I’ve read quite a few of your papers, and I even had the pleasure of attending a lecture you gave at MIT. I’d love to sit down later and try and pick your brain, if you wouldn’t mind.”

The large man in front of her easily dwarfed Toni’s size, yet despite that, and despite the bright blue hair that covered his body, he gave off the air of a gentle giant. It also helped that Hank looked like a cross between embarrassed and pleased by her excitement. Though his large hand pretty much dwarfed her tinier one, he wrapped both his around her one and gave a firm shake. “I would love that dearly. Are you perhaps a medical doctor as well?”

“Oh, God, no. I don’t have the patience for that. Or the stomach.” Toni grinned and waved a hand through the air, dismissing all of that. “My doctorates are in physics, mechanical engineering, and electrical engineering. I’ve tinkered around a with a few others, like aerospace engineering, but I get through all the information and I’d rather just… build. I don’t really see the point in doing and doing all the papers these places require you do to. Just for, what, a piece of paper to hang up on the wall that says I know my shit?”

The gentle squeeze of Loki’s hand on her hip still Toni’s ranting. She looked up curiously to find that he was watching her with a half smile, and amusement clear in his eyes. “I don’t believe Dr. McCoy was looking for a speech on the Midgardian education system, _minn fóa._”

“No, no, it’s quite all right,” Hank hurried to reassure them. He didn’t looked bothered – he looked _eager_. With a broad smile for Toni, he said “I’ve always thought personally that the education system is too rigid for certain types of thinkers. In some ways, we could benefit from a return to the old apprenticeship style of learning. Training, hands on, with those who carry a master status. Advancing due to our skills, not how well we write a paper.”

Toni practically bounced up on her toes in her excitement. “Yes, yes, exactly! Education should be tailored to the person, not to a rigid set of information in a book. I mean, I could sit down and read up on quantum physics in a night or two and take any test they wanted to give me, but would I really have the understanding of it unless I went out there and got my hands dirty? Theoretical study only gets you so far…”

Within moments, Toni was lost deep in conversation with Hank. She didn’t even notice Loki steering her toward the sitting area with its couches and chairs and tables. When he drew her down into her seat, putting her at the corner and him beside her, Hank took the chair closest so that they’d be able to continue their conversation.

It earned a few looks of amusement from the others who followed them over. “I don’t think I understand even half of what they’re saying,” Jean said, though she was smiling as she watched Hank talk animatedly.

Loki chuckled as he leaned back, crossing one leg over the other and getting comfortable. “Few do when she gets going.”

Without breaking stride in her conversation, Toni reached over and patted a hand against Loki’s leg. She left it there when she was done, curled comfortably on his thigh.

* * *

Something about watching Toni and Hank talk seemed to set the others at ease. Though it took a little bit, conversation started up around them. No one seemed quite ready yet to discuss the proverbial elephant in the room. Which, honestly, was fine by Toni. She wasn’t quite ready to get into that yet either. Nor was she ready to watch it sour Loki’s mood the way it undoubtedly would.

However, they did briefly touch on another topic Toni had known they’d have to, even if she didn’t quite want to.

“You know, you two are more than welcome to sit down and join us,” Jean said, directing her words to Eir and James. She’d been watching them for a while and it was clear that she recognized what they were, she was just choosing to look past that. Toni had to give the woman points for that. She was trying to make sure everyone was comfortable here. The fact that she included James and Eir in that, especially when Toni knew most people wouldn’t have, kind of made her like the woman a little bit more.

Of course, she could’ve told Jean it wouldn’t work.

James didn’t like to speak in public when he thought others might hear him. Especially when he was on guard like this. But Eir had no such compunctions. She stood proud and tall from her post near Loki, body at attention, eyes periodically scanning the area around them. At Jean’s words, she looked to the other woman and calmly told her “Our job is to protect the Prince and Princess.”

“You really think someone’s gonna come after ‘em here?” Bobby asked, curious and almost a bit amused by it, like the idea was kind of funny to him.

The firm look that Eir and James gave him said that _they_ didn’t find it funny. Eir’s voice hardened just a little. “We are prepared to protect the Prince and Princess – especially in a place where safety is _assumed_.”

That neatly set Bobby back on his heels, along with a few others. But it also seemed to have worked to bring up a few other questions that Toni had known were coming. “Your guard calls you Princess,” Scott said, his gaze sharp even through his sunglasses. “But the Professor introduced you as Dr. Arianna Strange. Are you two married?”

“Yes and no,” Toni and Loki said simultaneously. At a fond look from Toni, and a ‘go ahead’ gesture, Loki finished the explanation for them. “According to Asgardian customs, we are in the final stages of our engagement. It is enough to grant Arianna a higher status in Asgard than if she were a simple girlfriend, as I believe your culture calls it, or just a friend. Higher, even, than her status as a diplomat when she traveled there with me last.”

Toni caught Loki’s hand in hers, drawing it up enough to press a kiss against the back of it. She was as grateful as always for the lack of toxic masculinity in her partner. He didn’t feel lessened by gestures like that, nor by what people thought of them. At least when they weren’t on Asgard. “Here on earth we’re just engaged, that’s it. I’m human, in case that was your next question. Or, mostly. I’ve had a few weird things happen over the years, I’m dating an alien god, and my brother is the Sorcerer Supreme. Who knows what the fuck I am anymore.” She said that last part with a shark’s grin full of dangerous threat and a deadly sort of amusement.

Logan, who was standing near the grill, called over to them. “Leave ‘em be. They’re not hurtin’ anyone, and you’re not gonna get ‘em to stop.”

From his perch on the stone wall near the grill, Remy grinned and added in his own two cents. “Aint like it’s a hardship to look at ‘em anyway, yeah? Is dat like, a requirement fo’ y’r group? Y’ all gotta be drop dead gorgeous?”

“Why, you lookin’ to jump ship an find a new home now?” Rogue asked him. The question could’ve been teasing, just the lighthearted banter that the others clearly took it for, if it wasn’t for the slight tightness to her words or the way that Remy flinched ever so slightly.

Toni didn’t get a chance to say anything – Loki beat her to it. “Well you would definitely pass that requirement. As well as a few others.” He deliberately let his gaze run over the Cajun, who responded in what looked like an instinctive move by slouching back a little and shifting one leg. That was all it took to turn his pose from lazy to blatantly sexual. He looked less like he was hanging out outside and more like he was lounging on a bed waiting for his lover. It was kind of impressive.

A corner of Remy’s mouth turned up into a smirk packed full of filthy promises. “Ah, cher, y’ say de sweetest things, Y’r Highness.”

That got a few eye rolls, a huff from Rogue and a heavy glare from Warren, but it also served to make Loki smile, which was one of Toni’s absolute favorite things. “I speak only the truth as I see it, Mr. LeBeau.”

“Oh Lord,” Warren grumbled. Beside him, Betsy smacked his arm and grinned.

Toni took a second to sit back in her seat and curl her legs up, feet tucked off to the side and her knees leaning toward Loki. It let her rest against him a bit while also allowing her to turn and better look toward Remy. “I knew there was a reason you were my favorite so far,” she said, grinning at him. Then she lifted a hand and pointed at him. “Just for that, you’re sitting by me when we eat.”

“Replacing me already, my dear?” Loki teased, a faux mournful tone to his words.

Grinning up at him, Toni shrugged. “What can I say? He’s smart, he’s pretty, and that _accent_. I’ve always loved a good accent.”

The words that he leaned down and whispered in her ear, that gorgeous British accent curling over everyone of them, brought a wide, pleased grin to Toni’s face. Her eyes were sparkling with good humor and just a hint of lust by the time he pulled back. Toni didn’t let him go far. Catching hold of his chin, she drew him into a kiss that was as much a promise as his words had been. When they pulled apart, she patted his cheek and winked. “Save it for when we get home, buttercup.”

There came an amused sound from Logan, who had gathered up a plate of burgers and hot dogs and was carrying them over to the tables. He shot a look Toni’s way that was all sharp edges and easy amusement. “Try to remember we got children present,” he said, to which there were instant protests from Jubilee, Bobby, and even Rogue. Logan just ignored them, grinning to himself.

His actions seemed to serve as a call to eat. Within moments the last of the food was being brought from inside and set up on a buffet table that someone brought out from somewhere, Toni wasn’t entirely sure where. Loki conjured up his own additions, much to the pleasure of a few different people, and the clear interest of Hank. The good doctor started quizzing Loki on his seidr almost instantly.

The multiple tables were moved, offering everyone a spot to sit alone if they wanted, but everyone went for the large, extended glass table clearly meant to hold a large party at. Toni ended up sitting halfway down the table with Loki on her left, Remy on her right, and Jubilee directly across from her. On either side of Jubilee were Scott and Hank. That left the others spread out around them, which was fine by Toni. She had a pretty decent bunch right there to keep her entertained.

The only thing she wasn’t that fond of was the fact that neither Eir nor James were willing to come sit and eat. She tried to check in with them discreetly, see if they might want to join them, but the two retreated to opposite ends of the patio and clearly set themselves up at whatever guard posts they’d designated for themselves. Toni made a mental note to stop off somewhere to eat on the way home and make sure those two ate extremely well. Maybe there was a buffet somewhere between here and home. One that would be busy enough they wouldn’t stand out, and people might not notice just how much food Asgardians and super soldiers could pack away. If they did it right, and Loki was full enough from this, Toni and he could load up their plates and just pass those off to the other two so as not to arouse suspicion.

Toni didn’t realize how deeply she’d been lost in thought, absently serving herself as dishes were passed around – thankfully the direction the food was going meant it was Loki who was passing her things, someone she didn’t mind being handed things from – until Remy’s voice broke into her thoughts. “Y’ look like y’r doin’ some heavy thinking there, cher.”

“Always,” Toni quipped automatically. She had to give herself a little shake to break away from her thoughts, only to find a full plate in front of her, and Remy twisted just enough to be able to smile at her while he poked at his own food.

Remy smiled at her. “_Je suis désolé. _Didn’t mean to interrupt nothin’ important.”

Picking up her fork, Toni dismissively waved it through the air before using it to scoop up some of what looked to be Loki’s macaroni salad. She had to grin a little as she remembered catching JARVIS talking him through making it in the kitchen. “Nah, don’t worry about it. My brain’s always goings. I’ve gotten pretty good at multitasking.” She tacked a wink on the end of that just for good measure.

Her words had Remy’s grin growing. “Me too.”

The way that he turned every word into a flirtatious remark reminded Toni a lot of herself. Or, well, her younger self. There was a lot about her younger self that she saw in Remy. The easy, almost instinctive flirting, how it seemed to get heavier when he was pulling up his masks, even the strength of his masks. The kid was _good_. If Toni didn’t have the training she did, or the practical experience, she might not have recognized his masks for what they were. Remy wore his sexuality the same way that Toni had once worn her sexuality and arrogance, pushing them right out in the open and shoving it under everyone’s nose. Jim had always joked and called it her ‘_Don’t look at the man behind the curtain’_ act.

Leaning her elbow on the table in a way that would’ve had her parents and all of her publicity trainers groaning, Toni grinned at Remy while continuing to eat with her free hand. “So, Remy, tell me a little about yourself. Rumor on the street is you’re a damn good thief.”

Remy’s smile didn’t slip in the least, though she was betting by the tilt of his head that his eyes had made a quick sweep of the table from behind those sunglasses. Still, his tone was easy enough when he answered her, showing no signs of discomfort at the question. “_Mais oui_. Remy’s a Master Thief, cher.”

“You know, if you’re up for it I know someone who’d probably like to hire you to break into a whole lot of places.” The idea was an appealing one. Toni could already picture it, and if _she_ was this interested by the idea, she had no doubt that Tony would be as well. Toni stabbed a piece of watermelon and tapped it against the side of her plate. “It’d probably be just one job to start, kind of a test run for the both of you. You wouldn’t have to actually steal anything, though. Just see if you can get past the security to get in. Depending on how that goes, I imagine he’d have a whole lot more for you to look at. No security system is worthwhile if they haven’t been tested.”

Her words had Remy nodding easily. “Oh, _oui_. Done security consultation quite a few times. Y’ can’t ever really know how good y’r systems are if y’ aint never tested it.”

“So you don’t mind if I pass your information along, then?”

“_Non_, it aint no problem.” From somewhere inside that ever-present trench coat, Remy pulled out an actual business card. He didn’t hold it out to her, which Toni was grateful for. He just set it down on the table beside her plate, tapping it with one finger before letting go. “Y’ tell y’r friend to get ahold of Remy an we’ll see about setting something up.”

Toni gleefully scooped up the card, only chuckling a little when she saw the name ‘Remington Montgomery’ written on it. Underneath it labeled him as a security consultant, and it offered a telephone number and an email address. Toni twisted it between her fingers, checking the back, and then slipped it into her back pocket.

Conversation flowed easily after that. Not just between Toni and Remy, but between her and her other companions, too. She found Scott was easier to talk with when in a relaxed atmosphere like this. He was still a bit stuck up for her tastes. Or, more _tense_, really. It was on the tip of Toni’s tongue to crack a joke about what he could replace that stick up his ass with. She managed to resist, though, and found that he became a whole lot more enjoyable to talk to as the meal progressed. He had a sense of humor that was dry and just a bit biting sometimes, almost like Jim.

Jubilee was entertaining, too. She was a bright, cheerful young girl who seemed to like pretty much everyone around her. She had the snark of a teenager, and a hint of a gruffer side, but for the most part she was just _happy_.

It made for an enjoyable meal for everyone. The good mood lasted through all of it, right up until the end.

It didn’t start to fade until Bobby spoke up and drew them all onto the subject that no one wanted to talk about. The whole reason they were even here today. Everyone was done eating, all of them sitting back in their seats with glasses of punch or coffee – or a bottle of beer, in Logan’s case – when Toni heard Bobby asking Loki, “So now that you guys have this whole alliance thing signed between us, what’s the plan? The Professor just said that we’ve got some training to do, but he didn’t seem to have much more information. I mean, who even is this guy? Why is he coming to earth?”

The instant tension that filled Loki was enough to have Toni turning his way. She didn’t want to give him away, so she settled for sliding her hand over his thigh, the touch out of sight of everyone else. “Cause he’s a dick with boundary issues who can’t take no for an answer?”

She cut off when Loki laid a gentle hand on the small of her back. It was a gesture meant for comfort and silence both. Toni closed her mouth and tried to calm herself down. The people here had a right to ask these kinds of questions. They had a right to this information.

“Has your leader told you of the Mad Titan and his role in the Invasion?” Loki asked calmly. At their nods – the whole table had gone quiet, all eyes turned toward them – Loki nodded as well. “His plans for this planet were simple. He wished to come here and obtain the Infinity Stones already present in your realm. With those, he would have the power to snap his fingers and destroy half the universe. A fitting gift, in his eyes, to his lady-love.”

“Jesus,” someone nearby breathed out.

“We have done our best to locate and protect what stones we can,” Loki continued on. “The Time Stone is in safe hands, with one who will guard it with their very life if need be. The Space and Reality stones will soon be taken to their designated holders. That is three of the five. What remains are the Power stone, which is currently as safe as we could hope for, the Mind stone, and the Soul stone, which has more protection than any other.”

Jean was the one to ask the question Toni knew was coming. “An where’s the Mind stone?”

“Inside the scepter I used to invade Midgard. The Mad Titan would not have sent me here without a way to ensure his control.” Pausing, Loki quirked his lips into a sardonic smirk. He didn’t flinch under the glares that his words brought. “Peace. I have no desire to ever come in contact with the stone again, I quite assure you. Strong though the mind healers of Asgard may be, I do not relish giving the stone the opportunity to once more reach its hooks into my mind.”

Under the table, Toni squeezed Loki’s thigh in a gesture of silent support. She could feel how tense he’d become even if no one else could see it.

To try and distract from that, and to give Loki a bit of a break, Toni took over. She sat up a little bit straighter and spoke with a confidence that drew the eyes of everyone. It was a voice she’d perfected ages ago and often used around the press or in board meetings, meant to capture the attention of everyone and make them _listen_. “We’ve got multiple plans in place to help prepare us for when the Titan comes. We’ve got a hint of a timeline that we’re working on confirming, and we have people helping us watch so that we’re guaranteed at least some warning time. I’ve been working with Tony Stark to create and send up a series of satellites meant to monitor for any alien activity coming our way. At the same time, the Avengers are working on preparing themselves, establishing their team and training as best as they can for what’s coming our way.”

“As is Asgard, and the other realms,” Loki added.

Nodding, Toni sat forward arms coming to rest on the table. It allowed her to look up and down the length of it at each and every person here. “Per our agreement with the Professor, for the next few weeks Loki and I will be coming by periodically to help train you guys on what to you can expect in this fight. I’ll be working with Charlie to help program a few simulations for your Danger Room, and Loki will be working more actively with you in hand-to-hand. You’ve all fought pretty powerful beings in the past. No one’s denying that. But you have no idea the type of power you’re up against here. Not just against the Titan, but against his minions as well.”

“We’re prepared to offer you all the aid we can, in whatever way we can,” Loki said. He was sitting back in his seat, one arm up on the back of Toni’s chair, looking for all the world like that patio chair was a throne. Yet, Toni had to admit she was just a bit proud. While Loki didn’t completely shut off that princely air of his, he appeared more down-to-earth than he once had. More _approachable_.

“Make no mistake, this isn’t gonna be easy,” Toni said. “But like hell if I’m giving up our planet without a fight. Whatever it takes to make us ready, you better believe we’re gonna do.”

No matter what it took Toni was going to make sure her planet was ready this time. She wasn’t going to be stuck standing in the street watching as aliens came down and destroyed things around them, with no warning, and no one prepared to step in. This time, Toni was going to do everything in her power to make sure that people listened to her. She wasn’t going to let anyone talk her down. She knew what was coming. This was no suspicion – it was a fact. Thanos was coming.

Toni aimed to make damn sure they were ready when he did.


	5. Chapter 5

The next few months seemed to drag by in some ways, and yet speed along in others. They were doing everything they could to try and find the scepter, only it was well hidden from Loki, and none of Toni or Tony’s scans were coming up with anything. It was slowly driving Toni insane. They needed to find it before they got close to the events of Ultron. Hopefully, with her warnings, Toni wouldn’t be dumb enough to try anything like that, but Toni had listened to enough lectures on time magic from Stephen to know that sometimes the timeline had a way of trying to reassert itself. If you changed something, it could try and make that event happen anyway just under different circumstances.

Any circumstance that led to Ultron trying to take over the planet and the death of JARVIS was one that Toni wanted to prevent.

While their search for more Infinity Stones was slow going, their work with the X-Men was progressing rather well. In all honesty, Toni was surprised by how much they were getting along with the X-Men during what came to be weekly visits, all under the guise of helping them _train_ or discussing new information. Loki in particular seemed to benefit from being around others that the outside world considers monsters. They didn’t shun their differences amongst one another. Not Hank with all his fur, or Rouge with her inability to touch, or Kurt with his unique skin and tail. For that alone, Toni would’ve loved these people. But she found herself making a few friends as well.

Toni often left Loki to spar with the others, something which never failed to put him in a good mood, while she went to work with Charles, Scott, or Hank, discussing battle strategy, implementing new information into the simulations they designed for their training room, or speaking with other mutant houses throughout the planet.

The simulations were something new – something Toni and Tony had worked hard on together to create for Avengers training.

To Toni’s surprise, it’d been easy to get Tony interested in the upstate facility that Toni had bought in her time with the Avengers. He’d jumped all over the idea of creating an entire home life for them there. Training grounds, dorms, a cafeteria, proper staffing, the works. A building outside of SHIELD control, created for the Avengers and any other super-powered individual that came their way – another huge change, in Toni’s opinion, because last time Cap hadn’t been all that happy about any _civilians_ on the team unless _he’d_ been the one to recruit them.

Toni hadn’t had much involvement in it this time around. The most that she’d done was to help Tony prepare some of the training simulations. She was the one with knowledge of what they’d be up against.

What they’d come up with was now being spread to other places. From what Tony had said in their last video call, Jim had talked to his military contacts, and it sounded like the military wanted to contract Tony to design a training facility for them as well. He’d also let Toni know that Jim was being assigned as their official military liaison.

“He’s actually pretty happy about it,” Tony said, his own grin showing just how pleased he was. “He’s got a few things to finish out on his current tour, and then he’ll get to come stick around here for a while. In three months War Machine is going to be an official part of the Avengers, staying at the newly opened Avengers Compound. He’ll be there just in time for its official opening.”

Toni smiled back at Tony. “I’m really happy for you guys. That sounds amazing.”

“You know, there’re gonna be plenty of rooms here. Hell, there’s even an entire empty _floor_ that could be given to just the right group of people who want to be here but also want their privacy. No one, not even me, would be able to get in there without access.”

It wasn’t the first time Tony had brought something like that up. Nor, Toni knew, would it be the last. He wanted her out there with him. In Tony’s mind, any plans they could make would be so much better if they were able to be around one another, not stuck making calls back and forth like this. Not to mention how little Tony liked keeping her presence a secret. He was getting more and more frustrated with it with each passing month. What information he’d given his team had been corroborated by Thor just to make sure he’d be believed. He was sure that having Toni around, listening to what _she_ had to say, would make everyone believe it even more.

Toni didn’t have the heart to tell him that it probably wouldn’t. Not if her experiences with a team were worth anything.

For now she was able to put him off with an eye roll and a teasing “Yeah, _no_.” But that wouldn’t last forever. He was going to push it at some point and Toni was going to have to make a decision. One she wasn’t sure she was ready for.

* * *

Toni put off thinking about things like that by throwing herself into helping out the X-Men and searching for the scepter. She worked with a fervor that she knew worried the others. They didn’t stop her from going to her workshop, but they were always there when she came out, or there when she got home from the Mansion or yet another trip to hunt down a potential sighting. Loki would feed her, and the others would bully her into coming to rest with them in the living room so they could watch something together under the guise of getting them all introduced – or caught up, in James’ case – on current pop culture.

She wasn’t an idiot. Toni knew what they were doing. She was just grateful enough to allow them to keep doing it. She let them stuff her full of food, or spoil her a little, or force her into _Family Fun Night_ on Fridays. Sometimes they even got Stephen to come and join those, and that was more than worth any hassle she might’ve felt. Seeing him relax down into what had quickly become _his_ chair, Cloak usually hanging out nearby or coming to drape over Toni, dressed down in casual clothes – it was a good look for Stephen.

Though Toni wouldn’t admit it, she’d started to look forward to those nights. They were sometimes what got her through the week.

It was definitely what was getting her through her current visit with the X-Men. For three months now they’d been working together, and while Toni liked most of them, there were a few she butted heads with. Warren just happened to be one of them. Seeing as how he was the one there supervising her – or, really, just sitting his shift while she happened to work in the same space as him – while she did a few upgrades on their security system. For the most part Toni was just trying to ignore him. He was just polite enough and friendly enough to try and talk to her.

To be fair, it was only about _half_ his fault. Maybe three-quarters. There was a tiny part of her that didn’t like him simply because he was a reminder of her old life that she could’ve happily lived without. He came from old money, with an important family name attached to it, and he had all the arrogance that came with that. Though, much as Toni wouldn’t ever admit it out loud, he had less arrogance than she had at that age. Being a mutant had taught him a humility that Toni hadn’t learned till she’d been brought down in the desert.

So yeah, she knew part of the reason she didn’t like him was that she saw too much of herself in him, and he was _better_ in some ways. But the rest of her just couldn’t stand him because he was stuck-up, carried some ridiculous ideals when it came to certain things, and he treated her friend like shit. It was the last one really that made him the hardest to deal with.

During her time at the Mansion there were a few that Toni and Loki had gotten close with. Toni liked talking with Charles, the same as she always had, and she’d gotten to know Scott a bit better, too. Well enough that she enjoyed quite a few conversations. Especially when she found out he was a car geek and was more than willing to play around in their garage with her or let her in to tinker on some things on the jet. She also liked the bubbly Jubilee, and Logan had just shoved his way right up toward the top of her friends list here right from the get-go. Gruff asshole with a soft spot for strays? Yeah, Toni didn’t stand a chance.

Even Loki had made friends. Surprisingly, he also seemed to get along with Logan quite well. The two sparred together often in fights that left them both bloody and beaming at one another. But it was Ororo that Loki seemed to get along with best. When he wasn’t sparring or helping with the others, he could usually be found down in her gardens with her either talking, or meditating while she worked.

They’d both made friends, and they had people here they enjoyed, but right from the start there had been one that they’d both liked. One whose friendship they’d come to love these past few months.

Remy.

The Cajun was brash, bratty, snarky, _brilliant_, devious, and a whole other ton of adjectives that Toni could apply to him. Talking with him was always fun. Be it plans for training, a chat about their meal, or stories about their pasts, Toni liked talking with him. She liked seeing him open up, his masks briefly falling away.

With the amount of time they spent there it was pretty easy to pick up on the tension between Remy and Rogue, and Remy and Warren. He didn’t really fight with the others, but Toni had noticed that the others didn’t really defend him. Except for Logan. He wouldn’t let anyone treat the Cajun badly.

It only took two months to find out the reason why.

Thinking about that now had Toni gripping the screwdriver she held just a little bit tighter. The whole reason she’d found out about why Remy was shunned was thanks to the man sitting just a few feet away from her right now.

Warren had made a comment once when in the garage with Toni and Scott, who were working on a car together, that had been derogatory toward Remy. When she’d bluntly asked him “What on earth is your problem with him?” Warren had proceeded to tell her. In detail.

If he’d thought to make her hate the Cajun, he’d quickly been proven wrong.

“He’s a liar,” Warren had told her. “We found out he’s been lying to us for ages. He used to work for Sinister back in the day, and he was a part of a team that went and wiped out a whole group of mutants who were in hiding.”

Scott had been the one to explain it further after he sent Warren away. Bent inside the hood of the car, he’d looked over at Toni, sighed, and told her “It’s not really my place to say everything, but I know Remy won’t defend himself. He worked for Sinister as a thief, yeah, and did some other stuff, but he didn’t have any idea why it was he was going in there. According to what I got from him, Sinister told him it was some fact-finding mission. He didn’t know what the others were supposed to do. When he realized, he tried his best to save what he could, and almost got gutted by Creed as a result. He’s not a bad kid. Though,” and there, he’d held his socket wrench up at her and glared as threateningly as a man could with grease on his nose, “you tell him I said that and I’m making you personally test out the new simulations you installed. Alone.”

“Don’t worry, _Scotty_, your secrets safe with me,” Toni had teased him, deliberately using the nickname Remy used, and she’d been rewarded with a groan.

Since then, Toni had made it a point to talk to Remy more, and to make damn sure no one talked down about him where she could hear. Loki liked to tease her about her _parental instincts_ coming out to play. Or about “Adopting another child, are we, dear?” For the most part, Toni just ignored it.

A slightly aggressive twist had Toni’s screwdriver sliding and slashing across her finger, jerking her out of her thoughts. Years of practice kept her from jumping or jerking back, though she couldn’t keep in the low “Son of a bitch!” that slipped out.

Above her, she heard Warren move in his chair. “Are you all right?”

The fact that he honestly sounded concerned had Toni scowling. She wished sometimes he’d quit doing things that made her want to like him. “Yeah, fine. Just slipped a little.”

“What exactly is it you’re installing in there?”

Though Toni knew the others had come a long way toward trusting her, she didn’t begrudge some of their suspicion over her messing with their security system. Toni knew no matter how good someone was she wouldn’t want them messing with _her_ security. Then again, her security had JARVIS, and like hell if Toni would let anyone _near_ JARVIS. Only Tony was allowed to do anything that might get near him. Toni didn’t think she’d even let Loki mess with anything that might affect JARVIS. He was the love of her life, something she admitted to herself even if she wasn’t ready to say it out loud, but JARVIS was her best friend, her caretaker, her son, _hers_.

“I’m just putting in a few upgrades. Your tech is stupid old. Old enough that I’m actually a little offended on your behalf,” Toni finally answered.

She didn’t add on that the subject had come up in conversation with Remy, who was disgusted by their lack of security here. He’d wrinkled his nose and looked positively offended by the idea that the others seemed to consider this good enough. “Remy offered to fix it up for ‘em,” he’d told her, shrugging one shoulder casually, like his words didn’t bother him. “But dey liked what dey had.”

It made her feel a little bad to be down here fixing it up now. Because Charles hadn’t even blinked at Toni’s offer to fix things up for them. Neither had Scott. Yet they’d ignored Remy’s offer, and he had good ideas. Some of which Toni had been implementing today.

Toni ignored Warren for the final fifteen minutes it took her to get things finished. But by the time she was done, they had new computers that were much better installed, and a security room that was at least halfway decent. There was still plenty of work to be done. She just needed to wait for the parts to get there.

“All right.” Rising up off the floor, Toni dusted off her hands and slipped her tools into the back pocket of her jeans. She’d dressed in casual jeans and an old band shirt because she’d known she’d be working today. It was a good plan, too, seeing as how she was covered in dust now thanks to all the crawling around she’d done. “That’s the best I can do until I get the rest of the parts. It’ll still run fine until then, it just won’t be as good as it could be. Better than what you had, though.”

“We appreciate your help,” Warren said.

Toni waved off his thanks. “I couldn’t stand coming here knowing what shit security you guys had. It was giving me hives.”

She’d had good timing in finishing. Just as she gave up on dusting herself off, the door opened and Bishop came in to relieve Warren. He gave Toni a mistrustful look, yet said nothing, just held the door for them to leave. Toni did so with a smirk on her face.

She waited until they were a little ways away from the door before leaning in to whisper “I don’t think he likes me very much.”

“I don’t think it’s anything personal,” Warren said, giving her a small, sympathetic smile.

Toni shrugged. She didn’t really care too much if it was personal. Bishop didn’t have to like her. He was civil, and he didn’t protest her presence, so she was willing to ignore him and give him time to see if he’d come around or not.

The smell of something good cooking caught Toni’s attention when they left the hall. Immediately she turned herself, sniffing the air. “Oh my God that smells amazing.” Her stomach rumbled, and she didn’t hesitate to take off in the direction of the kitchen. Eating the food they made was half the fun in coming here. They all seemed to take turns cooking, and so far, Toni hadn’t had anything she hadn’t liked.

She definitely knew she was going to like the food tonight. Judging by the smell alone it was going to be amazing. Add in the slightly spicy edge to it, and she knew who was cooking even before she opened the door.

The dining room was already mostly full of people. Toni ignored them – she even ignored Loki, who was seated at the table and chatting animatedly with Jubilee about something. All of Toni’s focus was on the giant pot that Remy was carrying over to the table. “_Chili_,” Toni breathed out. “Oh my God, you made chili. It smells _amazing_.”

“_Merci beaucoup_,” Remy said easily. He smiled up at Toni, his sunglasses for once nowhere in sight, and she enjoyed the way the red in his eyes lit up a little. Honest pleasure was easy to read there, and it even brought a hint of color to his cheeks. The way he just lit up under any kind of praise never failed to make Toni’s heart clench a little. It was just another way that Remy reminded her too much of herself. The _never being good enough_ that led to him looking for approval while pretending he didn’t need it. The way he was constantly seeming to be underestimated. How hard he was fighting to be more than his past, and how those around him never let him live it down. Yeah, Toni related to that pretty hard.

There were a lot of ways that Toni saw herself in him. The need for approval, the belief that he wasn’t enough, the way he flirted with everyone around him but rarely ever meant it, the whole ‘you can’t hurt me’ air that he wrapped protectively around himself.

Weaving her way through the people, Toni made a beeline for Loki, stealing a kiss once she reached him. He caught her belt loops and held her in place so that she couldn’t move away. With his free hand he reached around and plucked the tools out of her pocket, setting them down on the table between the already set-out bowls. At the same time, he tilted his chin up for another kiss. “You look as if you’ve been busy.”

“Yeah, you probably don’t wanna touch me until I get a chance to shower,” Toni said, grinning shamelessly.

Loki scoffed at her and gave her a look that made it clear just how ridiculous he found her. A second later green light ran over Toni from head to toe and took away every bit of dust. Toni grinned at him as she took her seat.

“You two are disgustingly sappy,” Logan told them bluntly, sitting down in the chair across from them.

His words only served to make Toni’s smile brighter. “I know, right? James tells us the same thing all the time. Of course, considering he has a default of resting-murder-face I’m not really sure he gets to judge my level of sap, but hey, he is who he is.”

That got her a few rounds of laughter. The room was surprisingly full at the moment. From what Toni had seen, mealtimes weren’t regimented here. They put food out at certain times, like tonight’s dinner, but you weren’t required to come right on the dot. You were free to show up anytime within an hour window to grab your food. Some got food and took it to their rooms. Others went out. Others still made something different. But someone always made a big dinner that was brought to the dining room for everyone to share.

Toni wasn’t the least bit ashamed of how excited she was when the pot made its way down toward them and she was free to serve herself up some chili. The first bite she took exploded on her tongue in an amazing cocktail of flavor and spice that was enough to have her moaning.

The sound had Loki looking down at her with fondness. “You are not proposing to him, _ástin mín_.”

“I wouldn’t!” Toni insisted immediately. That hadn’t even occurred to her. At least, not in the way that Loki meant it.

Her trickster looked down at her with curiosity making a small wrinkle between his brows. Toni snuck a glance up at him and then dropped her eyes back down, over to where Remy was watching them with a bright curiosity of her own. “I wasn’t going to propose to you, don’t listen to him,” Toni reassured the Cajun. “Not that you’re not pretty or anything, but I’ve already got the prettiest partner, I don’t need another one.”

Remy’s mouth curved up to one side. “Ah, cher, Remy doubts he’d be able to keep up with such a _belle femme_ as y’, anyway.”

“Charmer.” Toni grinned at him. She enjoyed Remy’s easy flirting. It was just as relaxed as her own, and just as instinctive.

They were interrupted by Logan’s low snort. It brought the attention off of Remy and over to him. A likely deliberate move on his part. He was definitely protective of his friend. Still, there was good humor on his face when he asked Toni, “You propose to a lotta people, Strange?”

“Only those who cook for her,” Loki said dryly. He picked up his wine glass and took a sip, green eyes flashing with humor over the rim. “She proposed to me not even a full day after I came to stay with her. I was quite honored, I admit, until I discovered it was a frequent occurrence.”

Toni put on her best simpering look as she leaned in against his arm and patted his chest with one hand. “You know you’re the only one for me, frosty pop.”

The rest of the table was thoroughly distracted by the playful banter, and the hint of a story that they’d given so far. Within minutes, they’d forgotten entirely about Toni’s reaction to Loki’s joke, sidetracked by the stories of her past proposals to others. All of them except Loki, that is. He kept everyone distracted and didn’t press Toni about it. Not until the meal was mostly done and the others were all caught up in their own conversations, or in clearing the dirty dishes from the table.

Toni had scooted her chair closer once she finished and was tucked under Loki’s arm, half curled into his chest. It was one of their favored positions together. Like this, Toni was free to press her cheek against Loki’s shirt and feel the steady beat of his heart under her cheek. Plus, when he was relaxed enough, Loki often let his hand slip up to play with her hair, or he’d stroke long fingers up and down her arm the way he was doing now.

While others were busy, and no one was looking, Loki bent down and nuzzled against her hair. “You have something planned.”

There was no point in denying it. He knew her far too well. Toni let out a low hum and drew her mug up to sip off her coffee. “I want him,” she murmured, knowing that Loki would hear her. Her eyes followed Remy as the Cajun spoke with Logan, hands up and gesturing wide as he told some story or other. Whatever it was, it had his face lighting up in a way that it had rarely done in their time here. He looked bright and animated and happy. “Look at him, Lo. He's tiny and adorable, and I want you to feed him, and I'll give him cool toys, and he'll never leave."

She felt Loki’s smile where it was hidden against her hair. "Are you trying to gain a pet, or a child?"

"Does it matter? I want him, Loki." She watched as Jean approached Logan, Rogue tailing after her, and it was physically painful for Toni to see the way that Remy shut down. How his emotions disappeared behind a mask. Not before she saw the flash of pain, though. It wasn’t the first time she’d noticed it, either. Remy might be skilled at hiding his pain – his masks were almost as good as hers or Loki’s – but Toni knew how to watch.

Tilting her head, Toni pushed out her lower lip and pouted up at her partner, knowing he didn’t have the immunity he liked to pretend he had. “They don’t appreciate him here, babe. I know you’ve seen it just as much as I have.” They’d both watched and taken note of the way Remy was treated these past few months. Toni was quickly losing patience with it. “Can’t we take him home? _Please_?”

“He is quite the sweet young thing,” Loki said agreeably. The way he said it and the way he meant it were two different things. Most would’ve taken the words in a sexual way. Toni knew better. She knew that Loki saw him a lot like she did – a kid. He was young, broken, and in desperate need of people who could care about him and trust him, and whom he could trust in return. With his history, the people here would never fill that role. They’d always look at him and see the teen who had worked for Sinister. Toni and Loki saw more than that.

Smiling a little, Toni nodded her agreement. Then her smile wiped away. “They won’t just give him up, though. They’ll put up a fight. We’d have to steal him.”

“Steal our own thief.” Chuckling, Loki kissed her hair. “Life with you is never dull, my dear.”

Across the table, Toni suddenly caught Logan’s gaze. The feral man was watching her with far too much knowing in his gaze. Yet, to Toni’s surprise, he deliberately slid his eyes to the right, to where Remy was now talking to Jean, and then back to her before he gave a small, short nod.

Well, well, well. Wasn’t that interesting? Toni smiled and nodded back at him. She was pretty sure they’d just gotten a silent agreement to kidnap Remy from one of the Cajun’s only friends here.

Toni’s smile grew a little. Her brain was already racing ahead, making plans upon plans. If they were going to steal themselves a thief, well, they might as well make sure they did it properly.

* * *

They didn’t wait long to enact their plan. They didn’t even wait a _day_. There was no way Toni was going to leave someone in the situation that Remy was in for any longer than she had to. They’d already been watching for _three months_. For her own piece of mind, and Remy’s physical and mental health, they couldn’t wait any longer. Plus, well, Toni had always been a bit spur-of-the-moment with certain things. She just knew how to plan fast and on-the-fly. Luckily for her, her partner was capable of the same. Between the two of them they had a plan in place by the time that night rolled around and everyone was finally on their way.

With big, bright smiles, the two excused themselves to head home just the way they would on any other night. Then, once everyone was sure they were gone, Loki teleported them to the roof, shielded them both, and they waited.

It took a little while before Loki leaned in to murmur “He’s in his room.” The debate about what to do next had taken them a little while to work through. Wait till Remy was asleep or go in while he was awake?

In the end they decided to go for as stealthy a route as possible. To Toni’s immense pleasure, that didn’t mean just teleporting in as they both knew Loki was capable of doing. No, Loki proved yet again that there was a damn good reason why Toni loved him. He’d placed them on the roof near the wall where a small, mostly hidden control box was set up underneath the edge of the roof. It wasn’t where it would sit on a normal house. Then again, the benefit of having a house full of mutants was that they could set up things like this to house some of their security out of the reach of most anyone.

Toni wasn’t just anyone, though. Nor was she alone.

“Grab my ankles, would you?” Toni asked. Then, without preamble, she laid down on the edge of the roof and started to shimmy forward without even waiting for him to get hold of her. She simply trusted that he would.

There was a whisper of movement before firm fingers wrapped around her ankles. “I cannot decide if your trust is heartwarming, or foolish. Perhaps both.”

“Meh, probably. But that’s what makes it fun, gorgeous.”

With Loki’s grip on her ankles there was absolutely no way that Toni was going to fall. She knew that and trusted it. He’d keep hold of her. That meant that Toni was free to scurry right off the edge of the roof. Loki, bless him, shifted himself so that he was squatting at the very edge of the roof, holding her up like it was no big deal. Like he could squat there for hours and not grow tired.

Grabbing on to the overhang, Toni leveraged her upper body until she was close enough to grab the small pipe that ran to the box she wanted. She held there with one hand while prying the box open with her other, using one of the many tools she frequently had in her coat pockets. “You know, I probably shouldn’t find this as hot as I do,” she said in a conversational voice. “But the fact that you’re holding me up like it’s nothing kind of makes me want to climb you like a tree.”

Loki gave a low hum that held a hint of pleasure and amusement to it. “Once we’re home, dear. We have a few things to take care of first.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah. I know. Is it my fault you’re so distracting?” The box popped open and Toni gave a soft, happy “Ah!” before she got to work. Doing this all one-handed wasn’t exactly the easiest. She was almost tempted to ask Loki for a little magical assistance. Like something to lay on so she wouldn’t have to keep holding herself up. But, it was kind of a point of pride at the moment, and Toni wanted to prove she _could_ do it.

It only took her forty seconds longer than it should have to hook her phone to the security system. Once she was hardwired in, it was much simpler. She didn’t even need JARVIS to help.

“This hardly seems fair,” Loki said in a tone that didn’t show even a hint of strain from holding her up. “After all, you were upgrading their systems before dinner.”

“Just the hardware. I haven’t had a chance to do anything else yet. All this internal stuff is still theirs – though let me tell you it’s next on my list. Their protection is fucking ridiculous!”

Two minutes and twelve seconds after Toni started, she was having Loki pull her back up over the edge of the roof, grinning widely when she finally stood up and held her phone aloft. “Did it!” she said in a sing-song voice.

The corner of Loki’s mouth was curved up in that private smile of his that he only ever got when they were alone. “Impressive, as always.” He leaned in to press a mostly chaste kiss against her lips. Chaste for them, at least. It was still enough to leave Toni a bit breathless and with her eyes glowing by the time he pulled back. “Now, with your entrance into the system, I presume you can find our lovely friend’s room, yes?”

Toni had to blink a few times to clear the warmth from her mind that Loki’s kisses brought. She saw his smug smile and retaliated by poking her tongue out at him. Not the most mature response, but sue her, the man could _kiss_! “I can find his room,” Toni finally said. “_And_ disable the security between here and there, _and_…set the cameras on a loop so no one sees us go in!” The last part was said with a flourish of her fingers as she did what she was saying.

From there, the rest was easy. Going to the side of the building where Remy’s room was – which wasn’t far from where Loki had brought them to. Then, because Loki was a little shit who also happened to be impatient – and not in the mood to watch Toni try and scale a building without proper equipment – he waited until they were directly over Remy’s window before grabbing Toni’s arm and teleporting them inside.

Their arrival shouldn’t have caused a reaction. In anyone else, it probably wouldn’t have. But whatever power Remy had aside from his charge clearly gave him an awareness of the room around him. That combined with the senses and reactions of a kid who grew up on the streets had Remy shooting up just seconds after they landed. He did it smoothly, one hand sliding out from under his pillow to grab a gun, his whole body flowing sideways in a move that backed away from them at the same time as allowing him to bring the gun up and point it at them.

“Look!” Toni scolded, smacking the back of her hand against Loki’s chest. She gave him a reproachful look. “I told you we shouldn’t just teleport in! You scared him!”

Loki rolled his eyes. His hand never left the small of her back. “You simply wished to break in here. And you did. I just expedited the rest of the process.”

A small pout built on Toni’s lips. “Only halfway.”

Their playful argument had just the effect Toni had wanted it to. She saw out of the corner of her eye as Remy slowly lowered his gun back down. From his other hand, discreetly hidden at the blankets, it looked like he tucked away a few cards. But it was the look on his face that had her wanting to break pose and grin. He looked so _confused_. “Ari? Loki?”

Toni held up one finger his direction. “Just a second, dear. Mommy and Daddy are arguing.” She left Remy gaping openly at her while she planted her hands on her hips and gave Loki a mock glare. “You said we could break in and steal him, and I only got to break in a little. I didn’t even get to steal him! You woke him up!”

The long-suffering sigh that Loki gave was almost enough to have Toni breaking pose. His eyes were twinkling despite the way he rolled them at her. “If I promise to take you somewhere and allow you break in properly, might we finish our current task _before_ someone discovers us here?”

“Like I didn’t loop the stupid security feed. It was child’s play.” The look Loki gave her wasn’t changing though. Seeing it, Toni sighed heavily. “_Fine_.” Lifting her hand, she pointed a finger at Loki this time. “But I want a halfway decent security system! This one was just _sad_.”

Loki drew her in close with one hand. Then he bent low and pressed a kiss against her brow. “As you wish, my love.”

The two turned together to face Remy. They found him sitting up, his gun long gone, and his posture was a whole lot more relaxed than it had been. He was half slumped down in his blankets and against the wall behind him. One of his eyebrows was up, and a wry grin was on his lips. He seemed torn between amused and wanting to shake his head at them. “Anyone ever tell y’ dat y’ two are fuckin’ crazy?”

“It’s been said a time or two,” Loki said agreeably.

Toni nodded, waving a hand dismissively through the air. “We mostly ignore it. Life would be so _boring_ otherwise. If we weren’t at least a little crazy, we’d never get to do fun things like _this_.”

“An what exactly is it dat y’r doin’ here, cher?” Remy asked.

“We’re stealing you.” Toni flashed him a bright smile. “I don’t like some of the people here, or the way most of them treat you, but I do like _you_. So, we’re going to steal you and take you home with us so Loki can feed you and I can buy you things. We’ve got a big house with enough rooms for everyone and plenty of cool gadgets to play with. I mean, it’s not perfect. You’ll have to put up with James, and he’s a surly little shit sometimes with a fucking _terrible_ sense of humor. Like, _God_, the _puns_! But Eir’s there, too, and she’s pretty good at keeping him in line.”

With each word Toni said Remy looked more and more stunned. That was fine. She was pretty used to people not knowing what to do with her when she started rambling. Most of the time it was intentional. If she talked fast enough, and threw in enough words, she could sometimes get people to agree before they even realized what it was they were agreeing to.

Remy, however, had a quicker mind than most. It was one of the things she’d enjoyed about him so far. “Wait a second. Y’r here to… kidnap Remy?”

“In a sense,” Loki said. He took a step forward, once more putting a hand in the small of Toni’s back. The look he gave Remy was far gentler than the one that he usually wore around anyone else who wasn’t part of their small little family. “If you truly wish to stay, we won’t fight it.”

“We won’t like it, but we won’t fight it,” Toni said.

“However, if you wish, you may come with us. We’ll offer you a room in our home, and a place on our team, so to speak, though that’s not a requirement. As you know, the thing we fight against is big – far bigger than anything you’ll have seen here – and we won’t force anyone into that battle with us.”

Toni nodded her head in agreement. “He’s right. This isn’t us going through all this just to get you on our team. If it were, we would’ve just asked. This is just us… offering you a better home. Somewhere that you don’t have to be treated like shit for being who you are, or for what you’ve done in your past. Cause I promise you, kiddo, there’s not a thing you could’ve done that’s worse than what we’ve done.”

“Y’ don’t know dat,” Remy said softly. “Everyone says dat, an den dey find out, an it all changes.”

Taking a deep breath, Toni watched the emotions play across Remy’s face, saw the _want_ battling with the insecurity that life and the people here had put in him, and she decided to take a risk. One she hoped wouldn’t bite her in the ass. “I know. Warren told me a while ago. It just doesn’t matter. Remy, my home currently consists of a trickster god who was once mind-controlled into trying to take over the planet, and who was once part of a culture that sees nothing wrong with slaughtering innocent people just because they’re _different_, an ex-Hydra assassin with a pretty big kill list, an Asgardian guard who could probably kill me with one hand behind her back, and the ex-Merchant of Death whose body count is likely more than all theirs combined. You really think your crimes are any worse than ours?”

Remy’s head snapped up in surprise at the last title. Toni held perfectly still and let his eyes run over her. They settled on her face, taking in her features, and Toni could actually see it as realization began to sink in. “_Bon Dieu_.”

“Yeah.” Toni gave a soft huff and smirked at him. “That’s a story for a more private place. Suffice to say, we know the kind of shit life can throw at a person, and we’re the least likely people to judge you for it. I get the feeling your body count is a whole lot less than any of ours. So, what do you say? Can we go back to stealing you, or do you need some time to think about it? I’m on a tight schedule, I’ll have you know. If we don’t get home soon, James and Eir are going to start to worry, and I really don’t feel like being mothered and then lectured tomorrow morning at breakfast.”

The insecurity was still there on Remy’s face. Toni had a feeling it might be for quite a long while. Remy had trusted and been burnt far too many times for him to just give in easily. But there was something else there was well. Something that told her his answer before he said it.

_Hope_.

It only took moments before his decision was made. Once it was, Remy rose gracefully up from the bed. “Far be it for Remy to stop a t’ief in de middle of a heist.”

A wide grin split Toni’s face, and there was an answering one – albeit smaller – on Loki’s. “Grab your stuff, handsome,” Toni told him. “Then let’s get the fuck outta here.”


	6. Chapter 6

It said a lot about Toni and the life she led, or the things she did, when neither Eir nor James reacted all that much to finding out about their new resident the next morning. Loki had teleported them straight to the guest room that was going to become Remy’s, and they’d left him to settle in there before they went to bed themselves. A quick message through JARVIS let the others know that they were home.

In the morning, Toni went down to go fetch Remy from his room while Loki went to make breakfast. “How is he, JARVIS?” Toni asked while she went down the hall.

JARVIS answered her through the speaker on her watch instead of the ones in the hallway, making their words a bit more private. “Mr. LeBeau has been awake for the past forty-two minutes. In that time he’s made one phone call, and ignored three others. He seems to be nervous, yet calm, though I don’t have enough data to make an accurate guess, Ma’am.”

That had Toni pausing for a moment. She stood there in the center of the hallway and took a deep, calming breath. This wasn’t going to be a quick ‘grab Remy and bring him to breakfast’ sort of thing like she’d been foolishly hoping. Remy was undoubtedly nervous, and unsure, and likely hoping for some sort of answer to everything. _Suck it up. You brought him here, now it’s your job to take care of him, _she reminded herself. That meant giving the poor kid some answers.

Still, it didn’t mean she had to like it, or that it was going to be easy. Toni drew on some of her armor, trying not to shrug under just how uncomfortable it felt to be wearing it inside her own home. Like pulling on a sweater two sizes too small.

A soft rap of her knuckles against Remy’s door earned her an easy “_Entrez._”

When Toni walked in, she didn’t immediately see Remy. Not that it was a real surprise. This guest room was a bit bigger than some of the others, more a suite, which was half the reason they’d put him in here. The door opened to a small sitting area that held a comfortable couch to one side, an overstuff chair on the other – with a bookcase beside it – and a dresser with a flatscreen TV. But to the right between the couch and chair was a wide open doorway with no actual door on it that led into the sleeping area. In there was a large queen sized bed, the walk in closet, and wide window with a bench seat underneath.

That window seat was where Toni found Remy at. He was propped up against a stack of pillows by one end, jean-clad legs stretched out over the rest. The window was open, likely to allow out the smoke from his cigarette. Remy made quite the picture sitting there smoking. He was dressed casually in jeans and a t-shirt, yet his boots were still on the floor and his trench coat was draped over the back of a nearby chair.

Toni looked at him and couldn’t help but smile. “Morning, kiddo. You look like you’re settling in well.”

A smile was on Remy’s lips when he turned to look at her. He lifted the hand holding his cigarette and somehow managed to brush his hair back without setting himself on fire. A skill Toni was just a bit impressed by. “_Mais oui_. Y’ got a beautiful home, cher.”

“Thanks. I plan on keeping it that way, too, so…” Toni moved forward and dropped herself down onto the opposite end of the bench, kicking lazily at his leg when she drew her feet up. “Keep the smoking either in here or outside. I won’t say you can’t smoke in your own space, though if you set the room on fire we might have to rethink that, but other than in here it’s all outside only. Got it?”

“Got it,” Remy said easily.

She beamed at him. “Good! I’ll save the rest of the house rules for over the breakfast table. We like to do most of our important family shit over food. But I figured we should probably have a different conversation first, before we go down there. I’m sure you’ve got some questions.”

Remy drew in another drag off his cigarette. He smirked a little as he blew the smoke back out. “Y’ could say dat.”

“Well, let me save you some time, see if I can’t get those answered for you.” Drawing a deep breath in, Toni got herself comfortable as she began to tell her story. She’d already made the decision on just how much she was going to tell him. What she hadn’t counted on was just how easy Remy was to talk to. He didn’t interrupt her as she began to walk him through who she was, how she’d gotten here, and what it was she was doing. The man listened quietly the entire time she spoke. He finished one cigarette – charging it and flicking it out the window where it exploded with a small _pop_ – and had lit a second one by the time she reached the point in her story where he came around.

By the time she was done, he looked surprised, but he didn’t look like he was ready to run away. Which was a bonus in Toni’s books.

“Dat’s a hell of a story,” Remy said finally, once the silence from her story finishing had started to grow heavy. He’d drawn one leg up at some point, arm outstretched and resting on his knee. His other leg was dangling down, toes brushing over the ground.

At his words, Toni shrugged. “It’s a hell of a life.”

“An y’r willing to just… tell Remy all dis, hm?”

“I trust you.”

Those three words were surprisingly simple to say, and yet so very stunning to believe. What’s more – Toni meant them. She actually meant them, and she knew that Remy could see that. “Cher…” Remy’s voice was just a bit hoarse. He had to pause and clear it before starting again. “Y’ said before dat Warren told y’ about what Remy did.”

“He did,” Toni interrupted him. Her voice firmed, as did her gaze, and she pinned Remy in place with both. This was something important. Something she wanted to make _very clear_. “As I already told you, it doesn’t matter to us. You know who we all are now, Remy. Not a one of us in this house has clean hands. Out of us all, you and Eir are the only two who’d come close. No one here is going to hold you responsible for being tricked by a bastard like Sinister. Even if we did, I think it’s clear that you and the X-Men have already punished you enough.”

Remy closed his eyes on a clear wave of pain. It echoed in his voice, making it just the slightest bit hoarse. “Aint no punishment enough fo’ dat.”

Once, Toni might’ve smirked or joked or made some sort of sarcastic remark in response to that. She would’ve been awkward and uncomfortable with this kind of a conversation. Now, thanks to time spent with her the family here that she’d found herself in, she was still awkward and nervous, but she didn’t hesitate to reach out and lay a hand on Remy’s wrist. “You’re never going to feel like there is. All you can do is keep trying to do better.”

She was rewarded by a soft smile, and Remy’s hand twisting until it could touch hers, drawing it in and giving a gentle squeeze. Toni smiled at him and squeezed right back.

* * *

It was no real surprise when the two finally emerged from Remy’s room to find that the others were all already gathered together in the dining room. Toni was able to smell the crepes from all the way down at Remy’s room. It had her latching on to him and almost running toward the dining room. When she walked in and found the others waiting there, a stack of crepes and a ton of toppings on the table, Toni felt her mouth water. “Oh sweet mother of Tesla, it smells like sin in here.”

“Good morning to you, too, _ástin mín,_” Loki greeted her easily. He tilted his head up, and Toni swooped down in to press a hard, thorough kiss against his lips.

When she pulled away, he was beaming up at her, that bright grin that only ever came out in the privacy of their home, and it warmed her straight through. Because of that, Toni’s smile was just a bit brighter when she looked up at Eir and James who were both seated down at the other end of the table just like they usually were. “Morning, guys.” Abruptly, Toni noticed that Remy wasn’t beside her anymore, and she twisted around to find him standing nearby trying so desperately to look like he was comfortable. She reached out to him and caught his arm, using that hold to yank him in close. As she drew him in, she grinned at the others. “Eir, James, I’d like you to meet your new little brother!”

It wasn’t like it was the first time they’d met Remy, but for the most part Eir and James had only ever played guard when they went around the X-Men. They deserved a better greeting than that now that Remy was staying with them.

He didn’t seem bothered by her label of him. If anything, it helped Remy relax a bit, his smirk a little more like normal. “She adopted y’ too, eh, mec?” Remy asked, grinning over at James.

In response, James let out a snort. “She’s got a habit of bringin’ home strays.”

With his sunglasses on it was hard to read Remy’s eyes. But the way he lifted his chin up and squared his shoulders back, the same as she’d seen him do when facing some of those assholes at Xavier’s, made it clear how he’d taken James’ gruff comment. He didn’t know the man well enough yet to know that gruff was just James’ default.

The way that Remy curled his lips up, that daring smirk that said _you can’t hurt me_, all of it made Toni’s heart ache. She’d done the same exact thing so many times. It hurt to see Remy doing it. “What, cher, y’ jealous y’ aint de baby no more?”

“Oh, he was never the baby,” Toni interjected. Despite her own worries, her smile was bright and easy, a mask much smoother than the one that Remy wore. She kept it in place as she took her seat near Loki and drew Remy down into the chair at her side. “Don’t worry, that spot is all yours. James here is our surly teenager with all the attitude and anger issues most teenagers have. Eir’s our oldest, and the most responsible.”

“We’re just one big happy family,” James said dryly.

The rest of breakfast passed in relative ease. Remy spent the entire time poking at everyone. He was feeling them out, Toni knew, trying to see what buttons were where, and how far he could get with pushing them until someone snapped. It was a defense mechanism that Toni had used herself over and over in life. Poke at people and piss them off until you find out what their limits are. It didn’t usually end well. But, after that, Toni had at least known where those buttons were and how far she could push before the person snapped. It made it easier to avoid trouble in the long run. She was a pro at finding that line and then toeing it very, very carefully.

Remy seemed to be pretty damn good at it, too. But he was quickly discovering that he’d met his match with Eir and James. Eir was pretty unflappable; it took a lot to rile her up, Toni had learned. Unless it came to something that threatened those in her care. Then she was sharp, dangerous, and deadly. But this? Considering who she guarded and who she worked with, she had to have a pretty thick skin. Remy wasn’t going to piss her off easily.

It was James, though, that Remy seemed to be poking at the most. Toni wasn’t the only one to notice that, either. She saw something in the way that James watched Remy that told her that he saw it, too. What he was going to do about it, she wasn’t quite sure. But she trusted him to behave and was content to sit back and find out.

She saw the first bit of it once breakfast was done. Toni was sitting back in her seat with her body angled towards Loki. He had his arm on the back of her chair so that his fingers could trace against the side of her neck. Together, the two watched as James pushed himself up from the table, allowing him to tower over Remy for a brief moment. To anyone who didn’t know him, his posture probably looked threatening. Remy sure seemed to think so.

Right up until the moment that James let out a snort and rolled his eyes. Some of the hardness melted off his face. With his metal hand, he reached out and curled his hand over the back of Remy’s neck, giving him a tug and a shake that Remy clearly froze under, not daring to antagonize that strong hand. James wasn’t trying to hurt him, though. He just used that hold to draw him up out of his chair. “C’mon, _bratik_. Loki cooked, so we’re on cleanup. Let’s go.”

Remy looked like he was at a complete loss. His movements weren’t as smooth as he took the stack of plates that James thrust at him. But he held on to them, and he let James lead him in toward the kitchen.

The sight had Toni smiling. She leaned over just enough that she could tip her head and rest it against Loki’s shoulder. “Aw, Loki, look! The kids are bonding!”

Seeing Remy flip her his middle finger over his shoulder only made her laugh. She laughed even harder when James cuffed the back of his head and dryly told him: “Show your Mama some respect.”

Eir gathered up the rest of the dishes, going to join the two boys in the kitchen, which left Loki and Toni alone together at the table. The hold that Loki had around her tightened just slightly. She felt herself drawn in against his side and tucked close in one of her favorite positions. There, she could rest her head on his shoulder while still keeping her eyes on the others, a small smile playing on her lips. “We did good,” she murmured.

“Mm.” A kiss was pressed against the top of her head. “Yes we did. He’s going to fit in fine here, I believe.”

Toni watched as Remy flicked a bit of water at James, who gave him one of those looks that clearly said he was capable of ripping off your own limbs and beating you to death with them, to which Remy just grinned and Eir rolled her eyes. The sight made Toni’s smile grow. “Yeah, he is.”

* * *

In the end, getting Remy settled in was strangely _easy_. It might’ve had something to do with the way James seemed to take him under his wing. It was almost like he took Toni’s joking comments about Remy being the new baby brother seriously. He dragged the kid around with him everywhere for those first few days. He took him on guard shift with him, out to train in the backyard with Eir, he made sure the kid ate at every meal, and – this one stunned the hell out of Toni after she came up from her workshop – they even _went to town_ to go pick up some things for Remy. _All three of them_.

Not that Toni was going to protest. She’d watched the video feed JARVIS played for her while she was down in her workshop, and the sight of them dragging a bunch of bags to Remy’s room was enough to make her laugh.

Watching them interact together let Toni see a glimpse of the ‘Bucky’ that Steve had talked about so many times. The one who teased him, helped him, protected him, and above all, loved him. Not that she thought James loved Remy in the way she’d always been pretty sure Steve loved Bucky. But there was the start of something there between them. A friendship, at the very least. Whatever that friendship was, ita worked for them, and Toni was thrilled to see it. Remy folded into their family like he’d always been there.

They didn’t hear anything from the X-Men until almost a week had gone by. That was something that Toni very much was _not_ going to mention to Remy. She wasn’t going to let him know that his old team hadn’t cared enough to start looking around or asking questions until he’d been gone for a _week_. However, it only served to prove to her that she’d made the right choice in taking him out of that toxic household.

Charles didn’t beat around the bush when he called. “_I was told you might have one of my residents with you_,” he opened with.

Since it was only a phone call, not a video, Toni felt free in sneering down at the schematic in front of her. She was almost done with the new arm she’d been designing; she just needed to get a few last things in place. Despite her scowl, her voice was easy-going when she answered him. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I don’t have anything that belongs to you.” Which wasn’t a lie. Remy didn’t belong to them, not anymore. He was _hers_ now. Twisting the hologram in front of her, Toni gave a low hum. “Maybe you guys should keep better track of your things. Or, you know, treat them better. You might not lose them then.”

Charles went quiet for a moment. When he spoke again his voice was gentler. “_I’m glad he’s with you. He hasn’t been happy here_.”

“That might have something to do with the hate-on most of your self-righteous crowd has for him, but who knows.” It didn’t matter, not anymore. There was no way in hell Toni was letting Remy go back there. Not unless he really, truly wanted to. And she made sure to tell Charles exactly that. “Unless he specifically tells me he wants to go back, and I know he’s not being guilted into it or coerced in any way, I’m not giving him back. He’s ours now.” One corner of her mouth curved up just a little. “Besides, I don’t think James would let him go. He’s enjoying the role of big brother far too much.”

“_So long as he’s happy with you, I won’t fight you on that, Toni. Time and distance might be what he and the others need from one another right now. Just let him know that he will always have a home here with us should he so wish._”

They were pretty words. Nice ones, too. Toni knew that Charles meant them. They’d probably help to make Remy feel a little bit better, too. For all that he was settling in well with them, there was a part of him that no doubt missed his other friends. From what she’d been able to draw out about him, or from him, they were the first friends he’d really been able to get close to outside of his family back home, and he was banished from his hometown.

He had a new place now, with them. Toni couldn’t help but laugh about it a little when she and Charles hung up. “How the hell did I get here, J?”

“I’m not sure what you mean, Ma’am,” JARVIS answered slowly.

“Look at me. When I first came back I barely wanted to trust _Stephen_, or even Tony. Now? Now I’ve got a fake brother who treats me like he’s really my brother, another version of me who’s become like my twin, I’m engaged to the goddamn God of mischief, and I’ve somehow adopted three more kids.” There was a slight hint of hysteria edging Toni’s voice when she laughed. “Not to mention the random friends I’m getting all over the place. Jane, Darcy, Sigyn, Logan… I think I’ve got more friends and family now than I ever have.”

And how strange it was, too. There were some days that Toni still had a hard time believing it even as she was faced with it. She’d spent so long on her own. Surrounded by people and yet still somehow alone. To have such a wide network of people around her now – people she knew she could trust, that she could call on. It was _terrifying_, yet so very amazing.

Toni had no idea what she’d done in her life to gain this. It was the family she’d always wanted to have with the Avengers and had never quite seemed to get close enough to be a part of. Back then she’d been the outsider looking in. The one who wanted so desperately to be a part of things and yet was constantly on the edges without ever fully making it in. Now? Now, she was at the center of it all. The foundation of a family who loved her for who she was, not for what she made herself into for them, or for what she could give them. They loved _her_.

There was no greater feeling than that.


	7. Chapter 7

Life easily fell into a routine for them over the next few weeks. They started to pull back a little from the amount of time they spent at Xavier’s. Once the security system was completely updated, and they had the necessary simulations for their Danger Room, the only real reason to visit was to chat or spar and Toni didn’t really have time for that. Not when the deadline for Ultron was getting closer and closer. She threw herself into searching for the scepter with everything that she had in the hopes of being able to get it and stop what might happen.

She only got away with locking herself inside her workshop for so long, though, before her family started poking a little to draw her out. They didn’t try and force her out of there or try to use JARVIS against her to trick her out. They just extended invitations, no matter how many she’d already declined, and when she actually did come up they never tried to make her feel bad for the work she’d been doing. They just drew her in to whatever was going on and made her feel like she was a part of it.

Today, almost a month after Remy had moved in with them, Toni had actually accepted their invitation to come up and have some dinner out on the back porch. It was exactly what she needed, too. A little time to get out of her head and enjoy the people around her as well as some good food.

The kids, as Toni liked to fondly call them, were sparring together on the yard while Loki cooked something on the grill, and Toni lounged in a lawn chair. They’d offered for Toni to join them, only for her to smile and shake her head. She was a little too caught up in her thoughts tonight to be any good at sparring.

The fact that they seemed to both recognize that and respect it was something that stunned her. Remy kissed her cheek and flashed her a smile before he dragged James down into the yard, Eir trailing after them. And Loki simply brushed a hand over her shoulder before he’d made his way to the grill.

It left Toni free to watch them and think about some of the things that had been tugging at her lately.

Maybe her hiding lately hadn’t been about just _work_. Something about adding Remy to the mix had stirred up a few things in Toni. Watching their little family together didn’t help. It brought up a lot of old memories. Memories of a different time, a different place, and far different people. That time, she’d been back on the sidelines, hoping that she’d fit into her tiny little pieced together family, yet unable to stop feeling like she was just on the sidelines. They’d talked with her, teased with her, ate with her, fought with her, and yet Toni had never really felt like one of them. Maybe that was on them, or maybe it was on her and her own insecurities. Mostly likely it was both.

Here, that didn’t happen. Toni never felt like she had to question her place with these people. They accepted Toni for who she was, faults and all, and loved her anyway. In their own way, they made it easier for her to love herself, too. Not as extensions of them, not just as Loki’s partner or Remy’s friend or any of the other titles she might claim, but just as _her_. Even if she lost them tomorrow, it was a lesson Toni knew she’d carry with her always.

And in that lesson, she found the answer to a question that had been sitting in the back of her mind ever since they’d returned from Asgard. One that she’d gone back and forth on, weighed the pros and cons of, and yet had still been hesitant about. Who would’ve guessed she’d find the answer _here_? Yet, Toni looked at her family, and she knew. This was a feeling she wanted to hold on to.

* * *

The next morning Toni stumbled into the kitchen without any clear thought other than _coffee_. That was what she needed. She needed coffee. She barely paid any notice to the people sitting at the table. They didn’t matter anywhere near as much as the gloriously full coffee pot she saw just ahead of her. She didn’t know if she had JARVIS, Loki, or anyone else in the house to thank for it, so she just grunted out a general “Thank God” and almost dove for the cup tree.

Once she had a mug full of coffee and had taken a few sips of the life-affirming liquid, she felt capable of turning around to look at the people watching her.

Loki wasn’t bothering to hide his amusement at all because he was an asshole like that. She generally loved that about him even if she didn’t admit it. Eir was dutifully keeping a straight face – she was way too good at that. So was Remy, though Tony was learning how to read around his sunglasses to the little lines of his eyes that were usually hidden.

It was James who cocked his head at her and _smirked_, the giant dick. His eyes ran up her face towards her hair. “Nice look.”

“Bite me,” Toni said, taking another sip of her coffee.

“Your hair looks… angry.”

Toni grunted at him. “My face is gonna look pretty angry too if you don’t leave me alone.”

That broke the silence over the others. Eir’s lips twitched and she shook her head, while Remy snorted. Loki openly laughed at her. The scowl she sent his way didn’t deter him in the slightest. _Asshole_. “You’re ridiculous,” he told her, happy and fond in a way that made it so damn hard to be annoyed with him. Then he pushed up from his chair and made his way over to her. Toni would admit to no one the way she melted when he cupped her cheek and drew her face up for a kiss. “Good morning.”

“Morning,” she murmured back, refusing to add on the word _good_. That still remained to be seen. Though, this was a promising start.

As if he could read her mind, he smiled a little into their kiss. Then he drew himself back. He didn’t go far, though, his hand staying curled over her cheek. “I’m glad you’re up. I’ve received a message from the Guardians. They’d like to meet with me today. While I’m out, I want to take a chance to look around a few places and speak with some others who might be able to give us more information on the Titan and his forces.

See – things like that were why Toni hadn’t labeled the morning _good_. Toni forced herself not to pout, hiding briefly behind her mug until she was sure. “How long you plan on being gone?”

“No more than a few days.”

Well, that was better than it could’ve been. Benefit of being able to ‘Sky-walk’ and not have to rely on the Bifrost for everything, she supposed. Though not for the first time she found herself wishing she had that ability, too, just in case something happened to him while he was gone. At least if he was forced to go through the Bifrost he’d have to let Heimdall look after him. Like this she knew he’d be moving through all the secret pathways where he’d be blocked from everyone’s sight.

Sighing, Toni leaned into his hand a little more, her eyes drifting closed. “Be safe. And don’t be a hero. If things look like shit, get out of there.”

“A hero is something I have never been accused of being,” Loki said dryly. “I’m quite adept at saving my own skin, as you Midgardians would say.” Leaning down, he gave her one last hard, deep kiss, enough to make her toes curl against the cold floor. Then he was drawing himself away with just enough reluctance to make her feel a bit smug. By the time he turned to face the others his smirk was fully back in place. “Behave for your mother while I’m gone.”

“We will keep her safe,” Eir promised solemnly.

A wave of the had changed Loki’s clothes from his casual, around-the-house style clothes to his kneel-before-me leather get-up. He looked back at Toni, who grinned over the top of her mug and wiggled her eyebrows at him. That more than anything else seemed to set Loki at ease. His smile was more real. “I won’t tell you to behave. You’d cause trouble simply to be difficult.”

Toni’s grin grew. “True.”

“I’ll advise you, then – don’t get caught.”

With that warning, and a wink, Loki vanished.

There was still a hint of a smile on Toni’s lips as she drained the last of her coffee in one big drink, not caring for how it burned as it went down. She poured another one and then turned back to the others, flashing them a grin. “All right, kiddos, you heard your dad. _Behave._ Mama’s got a new suit to tweak around with and I don’t want any interruptions unless it’s life or death or loss of limb.”

As she walked away, she missed the way that Remy made to call after her, or how James stopped him with just a hand on his arm and a small shake of his head. The three kept a worried eye on Toni until she disappeared from sight. They knew, better than anyone really, that Toni didn’t do well when one of the people she cared about was gone. Especially Loki. The next few days were likely going to be spent on a creation binge unlike

* * *

They weren’t wrong. For almost three days Toni kept herself shut up downstairs. Most of the communication she had with the others was through JARVIS. When she finally did emerge, it wasn’t by her own free will, and she _wasn’t_ happy about it.

The bright sunshine of late morning was normally something Toni enjoyed. Today, she glared up at it, pushing her sunglasses down to cover her eyes and block it out. Through them, she stared grumpily down at her coffee mug as she slouched down in the patio chair she’d been lying in for the past half an hour. She heard James come out, but for once didn't bother turning to look at him. Instead she sat there and continued to sulk – _she wasn't pouting, no matter what JARVIS said_!

His footsteps came closer until he stopped right alongside her chair, blocking her sun. There was a moment of quiet before James bluntly asked: “What crawled up your ass?”

She shot him a glare from behind her sunglasses. “Charming as ever, Chuckles.” Just because she could, she slumped down a little further into her seat and took a big drink off her iced coffee. James just watched her with his arms crossed over his chest and that stupid look on his face that said he had more patience than her and he could wait. Jerk. Toni took another drink and scowled even more. “JARVIS kicked me outta the workshop. Some stupid something or other about _sunshine being good for the body_. Bleh.”

When she snuck a look up at James she found the asshole _smirking_ at her. “Huh, who would’a guessed?”

“Oh, bite me.”

“Like hell. I know where you’ve been.”

Toni desperately wanted to continue with her bad mood. She’d had a pretty good sulk going. But, she loved seeing these moments when James relaxed enough to snark at her playfully like this, and, really, it was hard not to smile when he gave her that hint of a grin. It was easy to see where Steve’s stories about James being a real ‘ladies man’ had come from. He somehow managed to look smugly proud of himself, boyishly amused, and ready to commit murder all at the same time. If they were different people…Toni never had been attracted to things that were considered _safe_.

With a sigh goodbye toward her sulk, Toni’s scowl gave way to a smile that she flashed his way. Still, she wasn’t completely letting go of her sulk, and to let him know that she threw herself back on the chair as dramatically as she could. Somehow, she kept from spilling her coffee as she did. “I’m _bored_.”

“Good God.” When she snuck a peek at him, James was shuddering theatrically.

“We should do something,” Toni said in retaliation, because _fuck him_ for being a sarcastic asshole. “Loki’s gone, the other kiddos are off doing some punching thing or whatever. That leaves just you and me, and I don’t wanna just sit around here anymore. We should go somewhere.”

The glower he gave her would’ve been threatening from just about anyone else. Toni had long since grown immune to them. “I aint going anywhere, and you’re not goin’ into town alone.”

It was on the tip of her tongue to remind him that she’d gone to town alone plenty of times before he’d come along and signed up as bodyguard. Toni held it in and settled for rolling her eyes behind her sunglasses. That didn’t mean she let her idea go, though. She didn’t want to just sit here. She wanted to go somewhere and do _something_. Only, town didn’t sound all that interesting. What was there she hadn’t seen a thousand times?

At one point in time she would’ve had the power and money to call up one of a ton of jets or cars or boats and just go anywhere that she wanted. That wasn’t possible for her anymore. Arianna Strange wouldn’t do something like that.

But… there was one place that _she_ could go that Tony Stark couldn’t.

The idea hit Toni like a slap in the face. She didn’t realize she was grinning until James said: “That look don’t spell out anything good. What’re you plannin’?”

Toni sat up, shoving her mug over to the nearby table, and then hurried to put on her sandals. Once they were on her feet, she shoved up from the chair and didn’t hesitate to tilt her head up and grin up at the sky. “Heimdall!” she called out, knowing he could hear her out here. “Would you open the Bifrost?” She ignored James sputtering beside her and turned to flash her grin back toward the house. “J, baby, put a note up on the fridge for me, would you? Let everyone know I’ve gone to visit the in-laws.”

JARVIS was saying something, and so was James, but Toni didn’t pay any attention to it. She could already see the building of power up in the sky above her. The last thing she felt before the Bifrost hit was James grabbing hold of her arm. Then the power was all around them and the two were shot up into the sky.

Riding in the Bifrost was just as exhilarating as last time. Toni landed with a laugh, the rush of it all still tingling against her skin. She had her arms out and a bright smile on her face. “Holy hell, that never gets any less amazing.”

She heard James swearing lowly behind her, his one hand still curled around her arm where he’d grabbed on before they were brought up. The grip was a little tighter than normal. Toni imagined it was going to leave a bruise. Not that she really cared. She just patted absently at his hand in a comforting gesture at the same time that she turned to face the person who’d brought them up here.

Heimdall stood with his hands on his sword, yet still managed to bow. “My lady.”

The smile he greeted her with was warmer than she’d expected. It brought an answering smile out on her own face. “Hey there, big guy! Sorry I didn’t come see you sooner. Things to do, teams to recruit, science to, well, science. You know how it goes.”

“I’ve quite enjoyed your morning conversations,” Heimdall assured her.

That only made Tony’s smile grow. She’d taken to talking to Heimdall sometimes when she was having a morning coffee outside. Just little things, updating him. It was the same as talking to JARVIS in some ways, only Heimdall couldn’t really respond. “You should zap down sometime if you’re allowed. I make a mean cup of coffee. Besides, it’d be more fun to chat to someone who can chat back.”

“Who would be here to open the Bifrost for my return?”

Huh. That… actually hadn’t occurred to her. Toni furrowed her brow as she thought about it. “Don’t you guys have someone else that can do it? I mean, you can’t stand here all day every day. What if you’ve gotta piss? Or sleep?”

Heimdall straightened himself up to his full, kind of impressive height. “I do my duty to Asgard, Your Highness.”

“That’s really shitty.” The furrow between Toni’s brows grew. She looked up at him and frowned. “It’s stupid, too. Like, really stupid. But so are a lot of the things I keep encountering here. It also kind of makes me want to hug you, which is probably weird. I mean, I’d have to like scale the shit out of you just to get up to your neck, but I’m pretty sure I could make it. Still, though, no one deserves to have to constantly be on the job like that.” Mentally, she resolved to bring it up with Frigga. In the meantime… “Fine. I’ll make a thermos of coffee so it won’t spill and bring it with me next time. You’re responsible for the mugs, though. I’m not sure they wouldn’t break on the travel up here.”

“I would be honored,” Heimdall said. He looked like he meant it, too.

A brief squeeze on Toni’s arm before all touch vanished worked to remind her that she hadn’t come up here alone. She turned towards James, already apologizing as she went. “Sorry about that, Rambo. Come here, come here. I’d like you to meet the guy who helped us find you. Heimdall, this is James Barnes. James, this is Heimdall, the big eye-in-the-sky.”

Though James didn’t move away from Toni’s, he did move just enough to be able to stand beside her and bow just a little. “I owe you.”

“You owe me nothing, warrior. It was an honor,” Heimdall reassured him. To Toni’s surprise, he bowed as well, something she had a feeling was probably a high honor around here. Especially since it came from an Asgardian to a Midgardian.

Things had the potential to get a little bit awkward after that. Toni knew that James wasn’t all that fond of having attention turned his way. Luckily for him, _she_ was well used to being the center of attention. It wasn’t hard for her to bounce up a little on her heels and bring the focus back to her. “Do you know if the Allmother is busy today? I mostly came up here cause I’m bored and I wanted to kind of wander around, look at a few things, but I’d really like a chance to go talk to her about something.”

“For you, she will happily make time.” Heimdall bowed again. “I believe she’s in a meeting this morning, but if you were looking to spend some time in the markets today, it is market day. By the time you’re through there I’m sure she would be done and ready to meet with you, if you so wish. You could leave a message for her at the palace. While there, I’m quite sure a servant or two would be able to direct you to Prince Loki’s chambers and assist you in finding some…_Asgardian_ clothing.”

Toni looked down at her outfit. She hadn’t really thought about what she was wearing. After her forced nap and shower, she’d just thrown on lazy-day clothes to lounge out in the sun with. Short jean shorts and a sports bra with one of Tony’s old t-shirts over it that she’d cut the sleeves off of. Paired with her flip flops, and sunglasses, she was the perfect example of lazing around the house, though probably not for wandering around Asgard. Especially if what Loki had told her was true, and Asgard really viewed her s the soon-to-be wife of a prince…

However, it wasn’t like Toni could just zap back down to earth, get a change of clothes, and then zap back up. Nor was she Loki, capable of instantly traveling to the palace to get a new outfit. If she wanted to get there, she was going to have to walk through the city anyway, which meant everyone would see her.

Even as Toni gave a mental shrug, she heard Heimdall sigh. When she looked up she found that he was shaking his head. He said nothing about it, though. Instead, he reached to his hip and pulled up a brown bag the size of his fist that clinked when he moved it. He held the bag out, though he didn’t extend it towards Toni – he held it out towards James. “Take this for your lady’s purchases.”

“Hey, no, wait a second…!” Toni tried to protest.

She didn’t get far. James took the money, and Heimdall gently cut her off before she could stop him. “Peace, Lady Toni. I’ll send a message to the palace to let the Allmother know you wish to see her, and to let her know what I’ve given you. The Allmother will see it replaced from the royal coffers before the day is done.”

That… made it a little better. Royal money was still Loki’s money too, right? And he’d never whined at her spending any of _her _money on _him_, though he didn’t go overboard with it. So that had to mean that it was okay to spend a bit of his, right? Hands on her hips, Toni looked up at Heimdall. If she was going to do it, she wanted to do it _smart_. “How’s the money thing work here?”

The next ten minutes were spent with a quick rundown of Asgardian currency and the way a market worked. When Toni heard that haggling was a common thing, she lit up a little gleefully. Haggling was something she did extremely well no matter what country – or planet – she was on. It would be fun to try and haggle over the prices of a whole bunch of stuff she’d never really seen before. Just thinking of the types of things that might be in the market was enough to have her bouncing a little on the balls of her feet.

By the time the two of them set off toward Asgard, Toni had to resist the urge to rush her way down there. She knew running the entirety of the rainbow bridge wasn’t the smartest of plans for anyone who wasn’t Asgardian or super-human.

James walked beside her the whole way there. He looked dangerous, his body on alert, walking in full _murder-strut._ Only those that had a chance to really know him would be able to see his discomfort in the tight clench of his jaw, or the way he held himself. He wasn’t happy about being here. Seeing that was enough to dim some of Toni’s own excitement. Her smile fell away, and she bit at her bottom lip, a rare show of nerves. “I’m sorry I dragged you out here,” she said abruptly. “I didn’t really think that you’d grab on and come with me. I didn’t really think at all, honestly, which you know is pretty much par for the course for me. Everyone knows that. I just, I wanted to talk to Frigga, and I figured what better time than now, right?”

“You really think I’d be much happier with you here alone?” James asked, glossing over most of what she said and focusing instead on what he clearly felt was the important part. He turned his head just enough to scowl down at her. “You don’t even have your suit with you.”

Hearing the stronger hints of Russia in his words gave Toni a clue just how unhappy he really was with her at the moment. It was enough to make her wince. “At least I’ve got you?”

This time the look he shot her was packed full of disbelief. The annoyance had faded, though, and Toni counted that as a win. At least for now. She was determined to find a way to make it up to him, though. If he was stuck here in Asgard with her, she might as well make it worth his while. There had to be something in the market that would cheer him up.


	8. Chapter 8

Despite the fact that James had never actually been to Asgard before he didn’t seem to have a problem getting Toni to the market. Nor in finding a decent clothing vendor right from the start. The woman who ran the stand was nice enough, albeit a bit scandalized by just how much skin Toni was showing. She was certainly quick in helping Toni pick out a pair of soft black pants and tall boots first. The poor woman tried to get Toni into a dress, but like hell if Toni was going to set that standard when coming here.

After a bit of haggling, plus some rather firm descriptions on what she wanted, Toni handed over some money, plus a little bit extra to make use of the woman’s nearby tent to quickly change out of her clothes and into her Asgardian ones.

They were simple, thank God. Pants, boots, a green top that she’d thankfully convinced the lady didn’t need to have big flowy sleeves, and a golden vest/corset thing the lady called a ‘jerkin’ that cinched the shirt on tight and also worked like a bra at the same time. It was weird, and purely Asgardian, but it was a definite compromise between her comfortable clothes and the dresses she knew plenty around here would probably expect her to wear.

To Toni’s surprise, when she came back out of the tent she wasn’t the only one who’d changed her looks. Her eyebrows went up as she looked James over. He’d taken off his jacket, letting both arms show free, and he’d pulled on a pair of gloves. Guns that she hadn’t even realized he _had_ before were now on display on his hip, plus a long blade holstered on his other thigh. His hair had been pulled back into a bun that kept it all out of his face so it wouldn’t be a distraction. All in all, he looked dangerous and deadly.

Toni deliberately didn’t call him on it. She just carried her stuff over to him, only to find herself surprised again when he held up a brown leather bag that was probably just the right size to fit Gooma in. “The lady said it was enchanted to be bigger if needed. I already put my jacket in there.”

_Oh holy shit_. Toni darted the last bit of distance between them and grabbed the bag out of James’ hands. “It’s like a TARDIS bag.” That was _amazing_! She looked at it from every angle, all around, and then watched as she put her clothes and shoes in there. Nothing about it gave any sign that the thing was bigger on the inside. Yet when she reached in, she could feel just enough space for everything she put in – only it still felt that way no matter what she put in there. It was like the space grew as her needs grew. “Oh, man, I’m scanning the hell outta this when I get home.”

“You plannin’ on doing that any time soon?” James asked. His tone made it clear he knew what the answer to that was.

Toni looked up from where she’d been hooking the bag around her waist – it strapped on like a belt, yet the bag part hung just below her him – and the look she gave him made it clear what a dumb question that had been.

Sighing, James shook his head. “Of course not. Fine. Let’s get this over then, before your boy shows up and kills us both for bein’ here.”

“Loki wouldn’t _kill_ us. He might lecture a bit, but don’t worry.” Smiling, Toni reached out and patted James’ arm. “He won’t lecture _you_.”

“Like a lecture does you any good.”

Toni’s smile grew. “No, but we let him pretend it does. Now, come on! There’re so many different things I wanna see before we get up to the palace. I want to bring home presents! Do you think Eir or Loki would like a gift? I mean, it’s all stuff they’ve seen before, but it’s the thought that counts, right?”

There was a hint of a smile on James’ face despite the long-suffering look he wore. Even so, he obediently followed after her back into the market, and he stayed close enough the entire time to make sure he kept Toni safe. While he didn’t seem to want to talk all that much, no big surprise, he was easy to talk _to_. Toni kept up an almost constant stream of conversation while she darted from place to place. There were so many different things to see! Not just clothing or food stalls, but just, so much _more_.

At one stall Toni found a bunch of leather-worked items. Gloves, bracers, boots, wallets, bags. Even hair bands, bracelets, and other minor things. There was a leather tool-roll that Toni absolutely had to have. It’d perfectly hold some of her finer, handheld tools.

There were basket weavers, and people who sold or dyed wool. People who used that very same wool to make rugs or blankets. One place was almost entirely hooded capes, which Toni ended up buying two of so that she and James could blend in a bit more. Another place was material for clothes that you could pick out, be measured for right there at the stall, and have the clothes delivered to you later. Beside it was a stall that was all furs.

But it was the little trinket shops that really caught Toni’s attention. The ones that held small tools she had no idea what they were used for, or little handmade things that she was pretty sure had some sort of purpose she just wasn’t getting. It was at one of those that she found her gift for Remy.

As soon as she saw it, she knew she had to get it for him. “James, look at this!” Toni spun toward him and held out a handful of little black balls. They were smaller than golf balls, looked like metal, yet made no noise when they touched each other. Toni drew James forward enough to show him what they did, just like the stall owner had showed her. “Watch!” Toni held her hand above the long strip of counter and let the balls go rolling out. Then she held her palm up toward them and whispered “_Elfar_.”

The balls all lit up with a soft, muted light. One that wouldn’t really be blinding even in the darkest of dark. Just enough to help light the way.

“Remy would love these! Can you imagine how much easier it’d make it when he does a job? They respond to the command word and are keyed to your voice, so they won’t light for just anyone. The guy showed me how to set it up so they’d be keyed for Remy’s voice once we get back home. Then he’d be able to always have light with him that no one else is going to realize is anything important.”

James shot her what she knew was a fond look, even if it probably didn’t appear that way to anyone else. “You’re encouragin’ him?”

“He worked hard to earn his title,” Toni pointed out firmly. She pulled a bit of money from her purse and held it out to the vendor, who grinned and handed her a bag in return to put the six little balls in for safekeeping. Toni gathered them up and put them in, and then put that bag into the one on her hip. “I’m not going to discourage him from doing something he loves. He doesn’t hurt anybody, and he doesn’t take a job without making sure the person can afford to lose what they’re losing, you know that.”

Their next stop was a weapons stand. Toni knew she probably spent way too long there, but it was the only place so far James had shown any real interest in. It took a bit of poking and prodding for them to find something that made him happy. In the end, they walked away with a new set of knives that James was already wearing on his person.

Another stall got them a few different pieces of rather beautiful jewelry. A few bracelets that Toni liked, plus a necklace with a strange twisting green stone that she almost instantly fell in love with, plus three different rings that made her think of Stephen. But it was there that Toni found one item that she knew she had to have.

It was a medium with silver band that was decorated with large greenish-blue stones spaced a half inch apart around it. Between each stone were tiny little red stones that peeked out between what appeared to be twisting silver lines, almost like a web. One look at the ring and Toni wanted it. No, she _needed_ it. The stone itself was a perfect blend of Loki’s trademark green and the blue of his other heritage, while also marked with a color that was Toni’s. It was as if someone had made it with the two of them in mind. There was no way in hell Toni was walking away from here without it.

When Toni looked up to find the stall owner smirking at her, she smothered her own grin and hid the shrewd businesswoman that lived inside. One thing she’d discovered so far in the market was just how beneficial it was to be small and pretty in the eyes of some of the male vendors. Just like on earth, there was something about her size and her looks that made people assume she wasn’t smart enough to be any kind of a worry.

Even Toni she smiled flirtatiously on the outside, she was rubbing her hands together gleefully on the inside. _This is gonna be fun!_

* * *

By the time the pair made their way up to the palace the morning had long since passed and afternoon was creeping past them. The stew they’d stopped to eat for a quick lunch had been one of the most amazing and filling things that Toni had ever tasted. Even James had practically licked his bowl clean.

With as late as they’d run, Toni hadn’t really expected to be able to get in to see Frigga quickly or easily. Honestly, she hadn’t expected it to be that easy no matter how Heimdall had made it seem. Toni was, after all, still a Midgardian, albeit one who was dating/engaged/allied with one of their princes. She wasn’t quite sure how much that would stand up without Loki or Thor there with her. So it was a pleasant surprise to find them readily admitted to the palace and almost immediately escorted down to Frigga’s private gardens.

Frigga was seated at a small stone and wooden table that looked like it’d grown up from the ground around it. As soon as she caught sight of them, she was pushing up to her feet, a bright smile already on her face. “Toni!”

“Allmother.” Toni smiled right back at her. She stepped toward those outstretched hands and let Frigga pull her in for a warm, welcoming hug.

Laughter lit Frigga’s face as she drew back and cupped Toni’s cheeks. “Now, now, I told you before, it’s just Frigga to you, my dear. We’re not in a formal setting right now. Unless we’re in court for some sort of event, you need never call me anything but Frigga.”

How on earth was Toni supposed to do anything but smile at the woman?

Once Frigga got done greeting Toni, she must’ve caught sight of James because she broke away, her smile gentling a little. “Sergeant Barnes. I’m so happy to see you up and doing better.”

It was the most priceless thing Toni had ever seen as she stood there and watched the badass Winter Soldier start shuffling in front of Frigga like some errant schoolboy. His voice changed, more of Brooklyn leaking through to soften the harder edges of his words. “I have you and Lady Sigyn to thank for that, Your Majesty.”

“We couldn’t have done it without your strength, Sergeant. Very few would’ve had the mettle to survive the ordeal that you’ve been through.” She reached out to lay a hand on his metal arm in a deliberate move, not flinching at all. “Be proud of yourself.”

She let James staring silently after her when she turned back toward Toni. There was such ease in her movements, such grace. It made Toni feel just the slightest bit awkward as Frigga took hold of her arm and led her over to the table. _Awkward_ was something that Toni hadn’t felt in a really long time. Hell, she hadn’t even felt awkward when she was last here and was dancing around at a _ball_ of all things! There was no need to feel it here, either. Not when it was just her and Frigga with only James and a nearby guard or two to witness.

It was just – this was _Loki’s mom_. More than that, there was a specific reason that Toni was here today. Even knowing that she already had Frigga’s approval for what she was here to talk about didn’t make it any easier, or stop her from worrying that this woman might change her mind and decide that Toni wasn’t good enough for her son. After all, it wasn’t like it’d be the first time some parent had gotten upset at their child’s association with Toni. She – or rather, _he_ at the time – wasn’t known for being someone you wanted to tie yourself to.

None of them had been as important as Loki, though.

That thought gave Toni the strength to take her seat, and to keep her spine straight and her chin up as she did. She didn’t slouch, nor did she flinch away from Frigga’s steady stare. Though it left her feeling like the other woman could see straight down into the heart of her.

A slow, warm smile curved over Frigga’s lips. “Oh, the Norns did well putting you and my son together. You keep him on his toes, I imagine.” She didn’t give Toni a chance to respond to that. She just reached out for Toni’s hands, holding her own in the middle of the table until Toni reached back for her. Once they were holding hands, Frigga gave them a gentle squeeze. “I’m so happy you’ve come to visit. I was hoping you would. We didn’t have near enough time to talk when you last came.”

“Yeah, we were a bit caught up in the whole ‘saving the world’ thing,” Toni said easily.

Unlike most people who wouldn’t rolled their eyes or chided Toni for being so flippant, her answer made Frigga laugh lightly. “Yes, well, I am grateful for that as it was my life you were saving as well.” Her eyes twinkled a little, and she tilted her head to study Toni’s face. “However, I don’t believe you came up here simply to gossip. You have questions.”

Okay then. Straight to it. Toni could appreciate that. “I do.”

“Ask,” Frigga said, gesturing with her hand. “I’ll answer what I may.”

That wasn’t really that reassuring. It left Toni wondering what kind of questions she _wouldn’t_ answer, and _why_ she might not answer them. _Only one way to find out_, she reminded herself. Folding her arms on the table, Toni leaned in a little, her attention fully on the woman across from her. How Frigga reacted to questions was going to be just as important as whatever words she said. Toni needed to be able to watch her to gauge her honesty. “I’ve thought a lot about my gift – your offer. I know what I want _here_,” she lifted one hand just enough to tap a finger over her heart. “But I can’t make any commitments. Not until I know what it means.”

A brief arch of Frigga’s eyebrows was the only outward sign of surprise. Then, she clearly let Toni see the realization that swept over her features. “You wish to know what this would require of you, as it would pertain to Asgard.”

“Never sign a contract without reading the fine print.” That was a lesson Toni had learned at a very young age. One of the lessons her father had instilled in her that had actually stuck around. “_Read every inch of a contract, Tony. Especially the fine print. That’s where they’ll try and sneak something in that you can’t take back once your signature is on the paper.”_ Howard had told her.

Frigga nodded in clear agreement. “A wise lesson to learn. As to your question – allow me to be blunt here, where none are around to listen. Eating the apple will change you physically from a mortal to an Asgardian, as you well know. The change is a complete one. Were your doctors or ours to examine you, you would no longer appear human. However, that would not remove your ties to your home world. The choice would be yours as to where you stayed, and to whether or not you choose to swear allegiance. Even if, Norns forbid, something were to happen to my son, you would still be your own person. We would not force you to stay in Asgard. Though, in the same circumstances you would also be more than welcome to come here, with or without my son.”

A tension that had been building in Toni since she’d started to seriously think about this was finally fading away with each word Frigga spoke. She’d been afraid that eating the apple would mean she’d have to become one of Odin’s subjects. That she might be forced to come here, or forced to swear allegiance to a king she didn’t believe in.

Before she could relax too much, Frigga started to speak again, and Toni felt herself tense all over again.

“It’s not the ramifications of the apple that you should worry about in this regard. It’s your relationship with my son.” Frigga smiled just a little, her eyes twinkling with a mischievous good humor that made Toni think of Loki. “Eating the apple only makes you an Asgardian in a physical sense. But eating the apple and cementing your relationship with Loki would make you a true princess of Asgard, with all the duties and formalities that come along with it.”

It was a damn good thing Toni hadn’t been drinking anything while Frigga spoke. She might’ve choked on it. As it was, she managed to almost choke on _air_. “W-What? _Duties?_”

Frigga’s smile grew a bit wider. “Of course! Granted, they won’t be much. As you’ve seen, Loki often runs free on his own time. However, as he will be royal advisor to his brother when Thor is crowned, he will have duties of his own to attend to. I’m sure the Lady Jane would appreciate having someone like that to assist her as well.”

_Jesus_. Toni fought hard not to sit back in her seat and let her emotions show. One of the greatest things about becoming Arianna Strange had been her ability to live a normal life. To get away from the media, the cameras, the obligations. Now she was sitting here talking with the goddamn _Queen of Asgard_ and actually contemplating stepping into a life that would thrust her right back in the midst of all that crap. Only, it’d be on a different planet this time. Who knew how the Asgardian version of press worked?

It was a lot to think about. Toni was cursing herself for not having done so before. But now that Frigga had laid it out for her, there was no way Toni could stop her mind from racing down all those different paths.

From what Frigga was saying, marrying Loki would make her an actual princess. One who might get stuck being fucking _Queen_ one day if anything happened to Thor and/or Jane. Which, yeah, okay, some part of Toni had kind of known that. But she’d been thinking of it in terms of Loki, who seemed to want nothing to do with Asgard or its inhabitants. Or was it just Odin that had him wanting to stay away? Would that be different when Thor was king?

“It is a role we don’t ask you to take on lightly, or easily,” Frigga said. Her soft voice broke through Toni’s thoughts. When the young genius looked up, she found that Frigga’s expression was suddenly… older. Her eyes were those of a woman who had seen so much in her time. They held Toni in place, refusing to allow her to look away. “It might be love of Loki that brings you to it, but you won’t get far without a love for Asgard and her people. Or for the other realms. Asgard will ask much of you, and yet so little. What you need to decide is if you are willing to bear it. You can eat the apple, become Asgardian, but refuse a marriage. Though it would mean a complete separation from Loki to do so.”

Just the thought of walking away from Loki, of breaking apart what they had, was enough to have Toni wanting to snarl.

That fierceness must’ve shown through on her face. Frigga dipped her head in acknowledgment of it. “Then you have to decide what you want more. To stay with Loki and stay human? Or walk side by side with him and share in the joys and pains as a true Princess of Asgard?”

If there was anything the shitstorm of Toni’s life had taught her it was that actions had consequences, often ones she couldn’t predict, and rushing into things was what tended to get her in a ton of trouble. _Sometimes you’ve gotta run before you can walk_, she’d told JARVIS once, back when she’d still been young and cocky and stupid. Iron Man, suit tests, all the crap with Vanko and the palladium, _Ultron_ – life had shown Toni time and time again that rushing headfirst into something was a quick way to get herself hurt. Or, to hurt the people around her.

Yet Toni looked at Frigga, and her heart answered for her, pushing her to say the only thing she could. “You any good at summoning things like your son?” she asked, a slow grin stretching across her lips. “I left the apple in a case in my bedroom back home.”

Surprise lit up Frigga’s face. It had her eyebrows going up, and her lips parting just a little. Then it all wiped away to be replaced by the brightest smile that Toni had ever seen on her. It was a look of such blatant affection it stole Toni’s breath away. Still, she asked “You’re sure?”

“I’d already decided I wanted to do this,” Toni told her honestly. Right now all she could _be_ was honest. Her eyes drifted over Frigga’s shoulder to where James stood silently watching them. She caught his eye and smiled. “I’ve been thinking about it since you gave me the apple. I needed to know that I wanted to do this for _me_, not just for Loki. I had to know that I could do this and still be myself, still live with my choices, if Loki and I ever decided to split.”

“Very wise,” Frigga murmured.

Toni brought her eyes back to Frigga. She softened without even realizing it. Everything about her warmed with the love that she felt. “I’d already made my decision for me. Making the decision for him? To stay with him? That’s easy.” Honestly, it was the easiest thing she’d ever done. Making the decision to eat the apple for _her_ had been so hard. This? Choosing to be a princess in truth, to sign herself over to a life of politics – well, she’d done it in a sense before, simply due to her birth. To do it for a lifetime with Loki? There was no real choice.

She thought of the ring in her bag, and she smiled.

“Oh, the Nine Realms have no idea what they’re getting with the two of you together.” Frigga’s voice a bright, musical sound that seemed to fill the gardens until it felt like the plants themselves were sharing in her joy. She reached out and caught Toni’s hand once more in hers. When she looked at Toni, it was with the gaze of a mother so full of love for her son. “I could ask for no one better to stand at his side.”

When Frigga drew her hand back, she waved it over the table as she went, and a single golden apple appeared.

“Eating the apple can help to heal the most grievous of wounds. Keep the one you have for emergencies.”

Toni reached out for the apple without an ounce of hesitation. When she lifted it to her lips, she once more caught James’ eye. The smile he gave her had Toni laughing. She was still laughing when she took the first bite.


	9. Chapter 9

When Toni had pictured what today might be like, she could honestly say that she hadn’t imagined having lunch with the Allmother, eating a golden apple and waving _bye_ to her mortality, or sharing freaking afternoon tea with the _Allfather_. Yet somehow this was just her life now. She’d started out her morning sulking on her own back porch because JARVIS had locked her out of the labs. Now she sat across from a Queen and King, one of her closest friends standing guard by the door while Toni took some time to get to know her new _in-laws_.

It was a hell of a change. One that had her pausing more than once throughout their tea and snacks. She’d find herself just, staring down at what was in her hand, still not quite able to believe that all of this was actually real. That she was sitting here with Frigga and Odin. That she’d eaten an apple. That, in the eyes of Asgard, she was now _married_. Married! Her, Toni Stark, the very same person who’d sworn to never get married. Who’d loved and lost way too many people, been trampled on way too many times, and had give up on it all. After being sent back into the past, after losing Pepper without actually _losing her_, Toni had sworn off dating of all kind, let alone marriage. Yet here she was.

The curl of Frigga’s hand over hers drew Toni out of her thoughts. When Toni looked up, she found the older woman watching her with understanding. Her expression was soft, and her eyes warm. “Are you well, dear?”

“Of course.” The answer slipped instinctively past her lips. Toni had learned how to answer that a long time ago without even having to think about it. But for Frigga’s sake she managed to at least summon up a mostly real smile, even if it didn’t quite reach her eyes. There was a hint of apology both in her gaze and in her tone; respect for her host, whom Toni knew she’d been neglecting a bit. “My apologies. I’m just marveling at, well, everything. A lot of things have changed today in a ton of different ways. I guess I just don’t feel it quite yet.”

There was a brief look exchanged between Odin and Frigga that reminded Toni just a little of the way she could share an entire conversation with Rhodey without having to say a word. These two were doing that was well, though with far more skill. It was impressive, and a bit odd at the same time. Toni wasn’t quite sure yet what to make of this quieter version of Odin. He’d been mostly silent up until now, beyond a calm greeting when Toni had first come in.

Now, he turned to look at her, and his voice was a lower rumble than normal, underscored by the soft squeeze Frigga gave to Toni’s hand. “Your body is undergoing changes, even if you cannot yet notice them. It is a gradual thing, done bit by bit.”

“Likely you won’t even notice any changes until the morrow at the earliest,” Frigga said. She gave Toni’s hand one last squeeze and then let go, patting the back of it before drawing back. “Remember, magic is currently rewriting the very essence of your body. It will be a gradual change. Already there are some differences. Any who possess a connection to seidr will be able to see the changes in you. They’ll see that you are no longer mortal.”

Now _that_ was a fascinating bit of news that Toni hadn’t known. She leaned forward onto the table, forgetting for the moment the manners that had kept her back in her seat so far. “You can use your seidr to recognize what someone is?”

“Yes and no,” Frigga said. She was still seated as properly as any lady, one leg crossed over the other and her cup of tea held in one hand, while her other hand rested in her lap. Yet her eyes were bright, and her smile carried a welcoming edge to it that felt more private than formal. “Once the change finally settles over you, there won’t be a physical marker that people can see. Though, our personal energy carries a different feel for those who are used to sensing such things. But now, with the apple still in your system, I can sense the magic working in you.” A small twinkle was in Frigga’s eyes when she lifted her cup to her lips. “Certainly my son will notice.”

Now _that_ was going to be an interesting reaction. There was a part of Toni that was nervous – how could there not be? – but she was surprised to find that the larger part of her was _excited_. That was the part of her that had her smirking, just a little, as she took a drink.

When she lifted her eyes, she found Odin watching her with a much more open look than she’d expected. Almost… fond, in a way. Yet somehow exasperated, too. Toni only recognized it because she was used to seeing that kind of look turned her way. Rhodey was pretty damn good at it. Edwin Jarvis had been, too. It was a look that said that they cared, yet they weren’t blind to the trouble she could cause. Odin was a shrewd man. He knew better than to discount her ability for trouble. Though the fondness was a surprise as well as quite the change from last time.

“I fear I may yet come to regret this union,” Odin said dryly.

At any other time, Toni might’ve taken offense to those words. Especially since she still wasn’t quite sure how she felt about this man. He was an ass – of that, she had no doubt. He’d treated Loki like shit, screwed with his head, and caused her partner so many problems. So much pain. He also looked down on mortals in a way that put Toni’s back up. And yet… and yet he seemed a little different here. More Odin, less _Allfather_.

When Frigga had gathered them together in her own personal sitting room for tea, and to ‘present’ Toni to him, Toni had been prepared for the same stiff, formal jerk that she’d met before. Instead, she got to see Odin relaxed like he’d been during that first lunch together. She’d seen him smile at his wife and hold her hand. More than that, she got to speak with someone who no longer talked down to her but seemed to be realizing that she was more than just a pretty face. Though the cynical part of her wondered if that had something to do with the fact that she was in the process of becoming no longer human.

Toni lifted her chin a little in a gesture of pride. Then she cocked one eyebrow at Odin. “I’m not sure what you mean, Your Majesty.”

He met her stare for stare, his own expression dry, with just a hint of mockery at the edges. “I’ve only met one other who has a skill to match yours in making a title of respect sound like they’re spitting out dirt.”

It was hard to smother her grin. Toni set her cup down, folding her arm in front of her waist so that she could give a small, seated bow. “I would never so blatantly disrespect you inside of your own home, Allfather.”

“Lying to me already?”

There was no way that Toni could hide her grin this time. She sat up straight and let herself beam brightly at him. “Jarvis always told me to start as I mean to go on. I figured that was a pretty good rule to live by.”

She was surprised to see that Odin didn’t look the least bit offended by her implication that she was going to spend a lot of time lying to him. If anything, he looked like he was fighting back a smile, which really didn’t fit the image she had of him at all. The more time Toni spent around this man the more layers she seemed to find. She’d heard the stories from Loki, as well as a few from Thor in the past, yet hearing wasn’t quite the same as seeing.

Any other verbal banter or teasing that might’ve happened was cut short when there was a rap against the door to Frigga’s chambers. Only when Frigga called out “Enter!” did the door open. It was James who stepped in. Despite the fact that he was human, Odin had taken one look at him and simply nodded when Frigga said he was part of Toni’s personal guard. He hadn’t protested, nor treated James the way he treated other mortals, and it made Toni wonder just how much the super soldier serum and HYDRA’s experimentations had changed James around.

Though James gave both Frigga and Odin a respectful nod, his attention was fully on Toni. “Ваше Высочество,” he said respectfully, bowing low to her. Not once since they’d gotten around people had James tried to be anything other than her personal guard. She let him get away with it here, knowing how uncomfortable groups still made him, and how hard it was for him to shut off his Winter Soldier instincts when he felt there was a potential for a threat. Especially against Toni or Loki. Even if she hadn’t known, the slip into Russian would’ve clued her in.

Toni didn’t have to wait to find out what he was interrupting them for. When he straightened back up, he drew back and opened the door a bit wider, and Loki stepped into the room.

Almost immediately Toni felt herself lighting up. She knew it was showing on her face, yet she didn’t care. Screw any and all political games. They weren’t out in the middle of a crowd with all of Asgard watching. Toni had absolutely no shame in the bright, wide grin that split her face at the sight of him. “Well look what the cat dragged in!”

“Welcome home, Loki,” Frigga said warmly.

As was respectful, and proper, Loki bowed low to both his mother and father first, murmuring their titles. Whatever response Frigga or Odin gave was lost on Toni. She only had eyes for Loki as he straightened himself up and turned to fully look at her.

After Frigga had explained that Loki would be able to sense the changes in her, a part of Toni had wondered how he might react when he saw her. What he might say or do. None of her guesses could’ve compared to the stunned shock that was written all over his face in a rare display _anyone_ could read. Loki’s usual masks had fallen away. His lips parted on a shaky exhale, and his eyes widened. “Toni?”

There were probably a dozen different customs the two of them should observe in that moment. After all, they were in Frigga’s chambers, and family or no, these two were the rulers of Asgard. Toni had heard enough stories to know that there were certain formalities that needed to be observed even in private.

However, it’d been _days_ since she’d last seen her partner, and Toni didn’t give a damn about any kind of formality in that moment. If they’d been in public she might’ve been able to control herself. As it was, she wasn’t the least bit worried about Frigga or Odin. They were her new in-laws; they might as well get used to just how she could be. Besides, open displays of affection in front of others, especially if they were Asgardian, was something that Toni remembered from last time was a joy for Loki. Something that he’d whispered to her in later in the privacy of their chambers was something he’d thought he would never get to have.

Toni took only a moment to carefully set her drink down. Then she was up and darting around the table, and Loki was right there opening his arms, laughing as he caught her up and drew her against him. She buried her face against his neck and clung to him just as tightly as he was clinging to her, not even caring that her feet were dangling above the ground because of it.

When she drew back, she did so only to tip her head up and capture his lips in the kind of kiss that made her toes curl.

They broke apart, the both of them grinning at one another like they couldn’t quite help it.

“Toni.” Her name was a soft whisper on his lips. A barely-there sound packed full of the love and vulnerability that he gave to her and her alone. Hearing it only made Toni want to kiss him all over again. She heard the love that he felt for her, just as she heard the countless questions she’d known he would have. Yet that single word was the only one Loki could seem to say. Just her name, breathed out almost against her lips, with all the love and veneration of a prayer. In that moment, she felt like _she_ was the God, and this beautiful, amazing man her worshiper.

“Your Mom explained to me what this means,” Toni said, smiling at him. “I’ve been thinking about it since the last time we were up here. I know what I’m getting myself into, and I want it, gorgeous. I want _you_.”

There was the soft sound of chairs scraping against the ground coming from behind Toni. She heard movement, Frigga’s low murmur, and then what sounded like doors opening and closing. She briefly looked away, only to see that Frigga and Odin were out on the balcony together, arms around one another and their backs to the room. They were giving Toni and Loki as much privacy as possible in a kind gesture Toni hadn’t really expected.

The arms around Toni shifted just enough to allow her feet to once more touch the ground. Once she was steady on her feet, Loki drew one of his hands up to brush a bit of hair back from her face. There was still so much clear joy on his face. Yet, it wasn’t enough to chase away the worry that she’d just tried to prevent. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Because I needed to know I was doing it for me,” Toni said. She didn’t look away from Loki, though her stomach lurched a little with worry that he wasn’t going to understand. Unconsciously, she drew her hands down to fiddle with the lapels of his jacket, fingers tapping and twisting in a nervous gesture she so rarely let show. “Eating this, it’s… it’s a huge thing, Lokes, I get that. It’s not just a matter of being able to stay with you – though, trust me, that’s so fucking important to me. But, I mean, I had to think about the worst case scenarios. What about if you die, or if we breakup, or something separates us? What about in the future when all the people I know and love are dead? I had to know that I could get through any of those – that I’d _want_ to get through those. Being able to stay with you, if you want me to, that’s just the icing on the cake. But it couldn’t be the _whole_ cake. I mean, I just… does that make any sense?”

With each word she said, the worry had faded from Loki’s eyes. Now he was watching her in that way that no one else ever had. That soft look that always made Toni feel like she was capable of doing anything, so long as he kept looking at her like that.

“It does,” Loki finally said. He reached out to her, and Toni eagerly let go of his coat, letting him fold his hands over hers and draw her in close. A kiss was pressed to the tip of her nose. “No one wants the bad things to happen, but should they, you wanted to know that you would still want this life. That the whole of your life isn’t dependent upon my existence.”

The smile that stretched over Toni’s lips was bright enough to light the room. “Exactly.” The fact that he knew that, that he _got it_, had Toni letting go of his hands to wrap herself around him.

Other people might’ve been offended by her words. They might’ve thought that their love should’ve been enough of a reason. But Loki… Loki got it. He got _her_.

“And the rest?” he asked, though this time he didn’t seem as worried. He couldn’t quite wipe the smile away from his face. “You said that Mother explained it all to you. Did she truly?”

“You mean did she tell me I’m now part of the royal family?” A wide, devious grin lit up Toni’s face, and she drew one of Loki’s hands towards her so that she could press a kiss against the back of it. Then she winked at him. “_Please. _We already knew I was royalty. Now everyone else has to recognize it, too.”

His laughter was a low, husky sound that sent warm shivers down her spine.

Those warm shivers shifted just a little bit, cooling down, changing into something else, something that she knew. A familiar tingling sensation started to spread out from there and move all over Toni. It wrapped around her, curling over her limbs, pressing around her like a cool breeze on a hot day. Loki’s seidr was holding on to her now with all the love and joy that she was able to see in his eyes. When it grew around them both, surrounding them in a sparkle of green before fading away, Toni wasn’t the least bit surprised. She didn’t bother looking around her to see where he’d taken them. She just smirked up at him. “Shouldn’t we have at least said goodbye to your parents?”

“They will understand.” The way Loki said it made it clear that he didn’t care in the least if they didn’t. Every ounce of his focus was on the woman he held in his arms.

“We left James standing guard at your Mom’s door.”

Loki was slowly gathering Toni to him. One hand was at the small of her back, drawing her _in_ and _up_ until she was up on her tip toes. His other hand ran over the side of her neck, up to her jaw. It forced her to tilt her head up until their lips were once more just a breath apart. “He will find his way here,” Loki murmured to her.

“But…”

She only got the one word out before Loki cut her off. “Do you wish to continue to debate this, or will you allow me to take you to bed and show you just how dear you are to me, wife?”

Well, now, that was a stupid question. Toni would have to be dead to not respond to something like that. Still, she wouldn’t be _Toni_ if she didn’t snark at him a little. “Can’t we do both? I thought you were good at multitasking, babe.”

Another shimmer of green around them, and Toni was laughing as she landed on her back on Loki’s bed. She looked up into his face and watched as he threw a hand out, sending green sparks flying, though his eyes never left hers. They held sparks of their own that Toni was more than a little familiar with. It was one of her favorite looks on him. When his passion for her was so high he couldn’t keep his seidr from flashing through his eyes.

Toni grinned up at him. “Neat trick.” Then, because she wasn’t going to be bested by him or anyone, she shifted one leg in a move that Eir had been trying to teach her, though Toni doubted the woman had expected Toni to use it for quite this purpose. With one leg, and a quick elbow to the joint of Loki’s arm, Toni had him tumbling down to the side, allowing her to roll herself over so that she was astride his waist, hands on either side of his head. She grinned brightly down at him. “I’ve got tricks too.”

“You should never challenge a trickster, my dear,” Loki said, voice dropping down to a rumbling little purr, and his hand stroked up her spine, vanishing her shirt as he went. His own clothes were gone, lost somewhere between one flip and the other. He was always either quick to get his clothes off before taking his time unwrapping her, or slow to disrobe either one of them. It was maddening, and amazing, and something Toni was mostly used to.

A grin lit Toni’s face. “Bring it on, gorgeous. I’m not scared of you.”

It would’ve been so easy for Toni to lose herself in the moment. To let Loki use his body to show her the things that he couldn’t quite put into words. For all that he was the Liesmith, well known for his way with words, he so rarely used them himself in moments like this. Oh, he loved to _hear_ them. Needed to, really, for no one else had ever offered them to him. But that didn’t mean that he was always good with saying them himself. Big moments, ones that really truly touched his heart, were so rarely spoken aloud. Maybe it was _because_ of his reputation with words. He knew how they could be twisted, changed, their meaning so easily lost. Instead, Loki chose in these moments to press his love against her skin. Soft endearments murmured against her collarbone, bitten into the skin at her hip, kissed in silent promise up her leg. With every touch, Loki told her so much more than words could ever say, and Toni could easily lose herself in it over and over again until every part of her had turned to mush.

But when he went to remove her belt, there was something that jiggled at the back of her mind, something that had been important. It took her longer than she’d ever admit to for her to actually remember it. Loki was just about to drop her bag off the side of the bed when it all finally clicked. “Oh!”

Toni shot up straight, surprising Loki. He instinctively grabbed hold of her hips to steady her, yet the warmth from before faded away underneath concern. “Toni?”

A wide, easy grin spread over Toni’s face. “I almost forgot – I got you a present today!”

For a second Loki just blinked up at her, nonplussed. “And you feel the need to tell me… now?”

“Yes!” Neatly, Toni plucked the bag from where it’d still been dangling from Loki’s hand, held there when he’d grabbed hold of her so suddenly. She drew it in front of her as she sat back, making sure to sit _just_ high enough to not risk them both getting distracted again. The way that Loki pouted up at her, though she knew he’d deny that to his death, only made her grin grow. “Shush. We’ll get back to that in a minute. I wanted to give you this first.”

“By all means, my dear. It’s not as if we have any pressing matters to attend to.”

His dry tone only served to make Toni snicker. “As hot as it is when you go all princely on me, you’re not distracting me. Ah! Got it!”

The bag was tossed carelessly to the other side of the bed while Toni palmed the small black ball that her present sat inside of. She drew it out with a flourish, allowing Loki just a moment to see it before she was pressing it down on his chest. One finger held it in place. “Okay, so, this is even more appropriate than it was when I bought it. But just, ah, just bear with me for a moment, okay?”

Loki blinked up at her. Then, when it was clear she was waiting for an answer, he nodded.

Okay, good. _So, here goes nothing._ Toni drew in a deep breath and tried to hold on to the courage she’d felt earlier when she’d bought this. “I don’t know how much you know about customs down on Earth, but usually when two people get engaged, one of them gets an engagement ring. Then, when they get married, they exchange wedding bands to symbolize their commitment to each other and show the world that they’re taken. I always kind of thought it was like a ‘Keep Away’ sign. A classier way of pissing on someone’s territory, you know?”

A slow, lazy smile curved Loki’s lips. “A charming image, Anthony.”

Her grin flashed bright. “I know, right? _Anyways_, I was shopping down in that market today and I came across this really cool jewelry stand, and this one ring caught my eye.” All it took was one easy gesture to get the ball up off Loki’s chest. With deft fingers, Toni flipped it open and turned it toward him. It was easy to see when he caught sight of the actual ring. His breath caught in his throat, and _oh_, his eyes _shined_. That reaction right there took away any of Toni’s remaining worry. Her whole body relaxed as she smiled down at him. “Down on earth, I’d be on one knee in front of you to ask you this. Or, well, you probably would be because for some stupid reason everyone thinks it’s the guy that’s supposed to ask. But, whatever. We’re way more awesome than the average person. So! Loki Laufeyson, I know we’re already technically married, but I still wanna ask – will you do me the honor of being my husband?”

Loki barely let her get the last word out before he answered her. “_Yes_!”

The smile that lit up Toni’s face was probably bright enough to light up the room. She didn’t care in the least. Taking hold of the hand on her hip, she drew it up, and took great pleasure in being able to pluck the ring from its place and slide it down onto his finger. Just as the vendor had told her, it adjusted its size to fit perfectly. Once it was in place, Toni drew his hand up and pressed a kiss against it, her eyes lifting to lock with Loki’s.

When Loki moved his hand away, he only went so far as to cup the back of her head. Then he was yanking her down and kissing her until Toni’s head was spinning. Then her body was spinning, too, and she found herself being pressed down into the bed with Loki hovering over her, the seidr in his eyes the brightest she’d ever seen it.

The next few hours were lost to a haze of pleasure and love that made sure if Toni had ever doubted Loki’s love for her before, she had no reason to now.

* * *

There was no telling how long the two of them spent shut away in Loki’s chambers. However, by the time the two of them emerged, day was starting to slip into night, and they both knew they needed to get home. They just needed to gather up James and then Toni wanted to make sure that Heimdall really had gotten his purse of money back. After that, they’d be able to go home.

“We don’t need to say goodbye to your Mom or Dad?” Toni asked curiously as she pulled back on her regular clothes, not her Asgardian ones.

Loki gave a low hum while he slid the last buckle of his jacket into place. When he looked up, he was smirking ever so slightly, and his gaze was mischievous. “I already sent a clone down to make our excuses.”

Though Toni might not know a ton about magic, she did listen when Loki told her stories about his life, and she paid attention to the little things. One of those little things she remembered was Loki telling her that, while most others were tricked by one of his clones, his mother never had been. She’d always recognized when it wasn’t actually her son standing in front of her. Which meant that she knew it wasn’t Loki that was saying goodbye to her now.

That was probably something Toni should scold him for. After all, these people were family. Shouldn’t they go and say goodbye? Especially considering all the monumental things that had happened during this little day trip.

But, well…honestly, Toni didn’t actually _want_ to. She had a bad feeling that if they went down there they were going to get roped into some sort of ‘goodbye ceremony’ and potentially a few other things just for good measure. Plus, Loki just looked so damn _pleased_ with himself at the moment. His eyes were bright, his masks were nowhere in sight, and he was smiling at her in that unreserved way she’d never thought she would see happen on Asgard. It usually only came out in the privacy of their home.

So instead of doing what she probably _should_, Toni gave in and did what she _wanted_, which was to thread her arm through Loki’s and grin up at him. “Then we better get out of here before they realize and try and drag us back. I’m ready to go home.”

“As am I, my dear. We shall have to return soon enough. Let us enjoy our time away.”

There was a warmth in Toni’s heart that she knew wasn’t going to fade away for quite a while. They were going _home_ – not just to her home anymore, but _theirs._ They had a house, and people waiting there who Toni knew would be thrilled to hear their news. And that was a feeling that nothing else in the world could beat.


End file.
